You Can Breakup With Your Pain Medications Through The Help of a Physical Therapist
If you keep up with the news, then you probably already know that our country has been in the throes of an epidemic regarding the use of prescription medications and opioids. It’s a heartbreaking truth, and it’s caused practitioners and patients alike a world of pain and anxiety. In 2016 alone, 116 people died each day from opioid-related drug overdoses. Some 11.5 million Americans misused prescription painkillers in some way, costing an estimated $504 million in economic costs.
It’s not just prescription pain medications that are getting abused. A study by Boston University School of Health reported nearly 1 in 5 users of popular over the counter pain medications (Aleve, Advil, etc) admitted exceeding the daily maximum dosage.
But why? For the estimated 50 million Americans dealing with chronic pain and the untold more with intermittent aches and pains, use of medications can help them get through their daily life. Unfortunately, for many of these people the medications are only masking underlying health issues. Worse yet are the harmful side effects of these medications.
The medical community agrees that improved pain management is needed across the board, and a multi-modal approach is best. In instances where the medications are not helping with the pain or a larger than recommended dose is being used you should seek help from your doctor.
Fortunately, there are other ways to manage your pain, and physical therapy is a proven part of a comprehensive pain management plan.
Our innovative care strategies at HealthQuest Physical Therapy will help you find quick relief. Call our office today to find out more about how physical therapy can help you ditch the pain meds for good and get back to living a healthy, normal life.
Why opioids are never the best option
When you have chronic pain, severe injury, surgery, or significant trauma, your brain cannot produce enough opioids to keep up with the demand. Prescription medication mimics the chemicals your body naturally produces, relieving pain, but they do not help your body heal.
To understand why opioids are so dangerous, you first have to understand how your brain processes pain. Let’s say you hit your knee really hard on a table. Pain receptors in your skin register that something happened to your knee.
Those receptors send signals to your brain and spinal cord. There, your brain processes those signals as pain, and your body produces natural opioids to stop them. These chemicals slow your breathing, create a feeling of well-being, and block pain signals so you can return to a pain-free state.
This kind of relief can be very tempting and seem helpful in the moment because you just want to get on with your day without having to deal with annoying, aching pains. However, this relief is false — it’s only a bandaid. You’ve still hurt yourself, and pills do not solve the underlying problem and cause of your pain, not to mention they cause a plethora of harmful side effects.
Chronic conditions do not equal a need for opioids
Consider a chronic condition such as arthritis. Oftentimes, you’ll hear that people who suffer from arthritis pain must have expensive surgery, steroid injections, and prescription medications to cope with their pain. Sometimes, these treatments can actually benefit patients with severe arthritis, but more often than not, physical therapy is the safer route that should be taken PRIOR to more invasive and potentially harmful methods.
Many chronic conditions that cause pain and disability can benefit from movement and exercise. Research related to pain science suggests physical activity and exercise is an intervention with few adverse events that can improve pain severity and physical function, and consequent quality of life.
Why choosing physical therapy over opioids is important
If you are one of the more than 116 million people who struggle with chronic pain, chances are you are also limited in your ability to walk, stand, run, move, work, play, and perform daily activities. You’ll be relieved to know that there is a better option for pain relief: physical therapy.
Physical therapists are experts in musculoskeletal medicine and movement science. They work to not only treat your pain but find the source of your pain. Physical therapists assess all areas of your function and provide you with an individualized plan of care as they work with you to strengthen your body, improve your balance and stability and enhance your quality of life.
Your physical therapy program may include exercises and stretches, modalities such as heat, ice or ultrasound, manual therapies, and specialty treatments such as dry needling or instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, but it will not stop there. They will begin to address mobility, flexibility, and strength as they apply to the activities of your daily life. The benefits of physical therapy don’t stop with your movement. They reach your brain as well. Chronic pain and prescription pain medication use can lead to anxiety, depression and isolation. The more exercise a person gets, the better their overall mood and morale are. Physical therapy can help you improve your health in a variety of ways, but you must be willing to put in the necessary work!
The healing techniques of physical therapy
You might be thinking “I’ve heard about physical therapy. What good are a few stretches going to do me?” Don’t doubt the healing properties of a physical therapist’s techniques! Through advanced diagnostic procedures, your physical therapist can uncover the source of your pain and find ways to address it for long-term health and mobility. Best of all, physical therapy is a drug-free way to manage chronic pain.
Since opioids mask the pain without treating its underlying cause, many people are choosing to forgo pain meds altogether in favor of a more natural treatment.
Fortunately, physical therapy not only helps relieve pain but also addresses what is causing the pain in the first place. A physical therapist is a highly trained medical professional, but he or she also is an expert in the science of movement, and they will be able to properly assess your condition in a way that you simply cannot by just Googling your symptoms. From there, they can create a unique, special treatment program for your recovery.
You can expect to learn many different forms of exercise including targeted stretches and other methods to perform on your own at home as you progress in your treatment. Of course, your therapist will always be happy to help you adjust methods as needed, so be sure to let them know if something is uncomfortable for you or causing you pain!
Find effective relief today without the use of pain medication
If you’ve been taking opioids or other pain medications without relief and your quality of life is decreasing, it’s time to take a stand and make a change. Advocate for your own health today. Call our physical therapist today and find out how physical therapy can help you live a full, pain-free, functional life — WITHOUT the use of pain medications.