Non Opioid Pain Management

Every day, more than 115 People in the United States die from overdosing on opioids.

Physical Therapy is a smart choice for treating chronic pain

Part 1.

Examination

Our physical therapy team will classify the components of the patient’s pain. We will determine the root causes of all potential pain sources while considering the biopsychosocial model. Research shows that classification of pain syndromes improves outcomes.

Part 2.

Inclusion Criteria

Not all patients are ready to accept ownership and responsibility for their role in recovery. We will formally assess a patient’s readiness to change. For example, studies show that a high FABQ (fear avoidance belief questionnaire) score predicts poor outcomes with manual therapy for musculoskeletal pain. This provides evidence for the need to address the biopsychosocial aspects that effect a patient’s pain experience.

Part 3.

Program Content

Chronic pain management programs may include:

• Pain counseling
• Functional restoration program
• Implementation of exercise from an exercise specialist
• Patient independence for long term self management
• Massage/ manual therapy as needed

Physical therapy programs for chronic pain are important for a number of reasons:

• The cost to treat pain has increased dramatically while patients’ self reported health status has remained unchanged.
• If pain level correlated directly with pathophysiology, pain treatments would be straightforward, but this is not the case.
• Pathophysiological changes bear little relationship to reported pain intensity.
• Musculoskeletal pain has physical, neurological, cognitive, and psychoemotional mechanisms.
• Treatment commonly does not address the wide ranging factors that influence pain and therefore outcomes are poor.

References:

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