Contributions by: Walt Lingerfelt, PT, DPT
With the growing need for treatment to relieve lower back pain or other nagging injuries, it can be easier than ever for individuals on health plans to have access to painkillers like opioids. We all experience chronic pain at some point in our lives, and with 80 percent of adults having experienced back pain, adults will often consult with a doctor on a quick solution to remedy that pain.
Dealing with back pain can be a debilitating experience. As the second most common reason that adults see a doctor, the need for pain relief continues to grow. Simple tasks at home or work soon become the hardest and if given the opportunity to finally relieve that pain, who wouldn’t choose the easiest way? Doctors are tasked with treating their patients to the best care possible, but the result is too often prescribing opioids to those seeking immediate relief, which leads many to ask if opioids are a safe solution.
With no evidence that opioids are an effective method to treat pain, why are they prescribed? In the short term, opioids mask the pain but don’t really solve the problem. As more doctors prescribe opioids to patients experiencing chronic pain, more cases of opioid abuse and overdose have been reported. An estimated 700,000 people are likely to die from opioid overdoses between 2015 and 2025, making awareness around opioid abuse and addiction absolutely necessary. In order to help reduce opioid use, we can raise awareness about the simple alternative physical therapy can provide.
How ATI can help
Instead of going to your doctor in hopes of getting an opioid prescription to relieve your back pain, the safest and most effective alternative is a combination of education, physical therapy and proper exercise. ATI Physical Therapy provides research-driven treatment methods from its in-house research and data teams to improve rehabilitation outcomes. Having effectivity helped millions of patients return to a pain-free lifestyle, our experts provide safe and effective techniques to treat your injury.
With the help of ATI’s team of rehabilitation specialists, patients can begin taking steps toward understanding how they can take back control of their lives without the reliance on medication. In addition to dependence, chronic opioid use often leaves patients with side effects that make participation in regular physical activity difficult. However, a return to a more active lifestyle with fewer symptoms is very achievable. Each patient has individual circumstances that need to be considered when designing the most appropriate program for them. That may include a variety of hands-on approaches and exercises. Here are a few common tips to begin the process:
Establish Goals
As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time. When we have specific goals in mind we are more likely to achieve those goals. Having a specific activity or task in mind allows your therapist to appropriately design a graded approach incorporating small pieces of those movement patterns to slowly allow you to accomplish these tasks over time.
Aerobic Exercise
Delivering oxygenated blood to tissues is one of the most basic and life-sustaining physiologic effects of exercise. However, what is less known is that exercise induces the release of chemicals hundreds of times more powerful that any opioid that can be created. Particularly, getting your heart rate up and sustaining it is one of the more effective ways to ensure this process happens. You may think that this requires considerable exertion, but research from the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development has shown that maintaining the heart at 50 percent of a person’s maximum for 10 minutes can trigger the release of these pain-relieving chemicals. Chronic opioid use reduces the body’s ability to generate these processes but over time this may be reversed.
Reducing Stress
As with most other bodily functions, stress has an enormous impact on how the body senses “danger messages.” Our bodies are equipped with very powerful hormones that allow us to survive in stressful circumstances — the fight-or-flight response. Although essential for survival, over time this can become destructive to the body. As stress becomes a constant in a patient’s life, stress hormones are secreted which can make tissues extra sensitive in addition to multiple other side effects including memory loss, fatigue, soreness, concentration difficulty and sleep issues. Engaging in behaviors that reduce stress and making lifestyle changes that reduce daily stressors can be a good first step.
Understanding tissues aren’t always the only issue
In general, most of us have accepted that pain signals a problem with a tissue somewhere in the body. While this certainly may be true, we also know that pain can occur without the presence of underlying pathology. Pain is an incredibly complicated subject and one we have yet to fully understand. What we do know is that despite the presence of structural abnormalities such as osteoarthritis, herniated discs, degenerated discs or stenosis, patients can have great outcomes and return to their normal level of function. These changes are expected consequences of time and will occur in all of us at some point. Too often the fear of their presence paralyzes patients and curbs positive expectations, but fortunately many do very well with a dedicated rehabilitation approach.
As the fight against opioid abuse and addiction continues, join ATI in educating members in healthcare and those utilizing health plans about the effective alternative that physical therapy provides in relieving chronic pain. Together, we can help stop the addiction before it starts.
Are you experiencing lower back pain?
If you’re struggling with managing your chronic pain, stop by your nearest ATI Physical Therapy clinic for a complimentary screening and get back to being you. Our experts will listen to your concerns, evaluate your injury and create a safe and effective plan to help you reach your goals and live a healthy lifestyle.