Chronic pain is the archrival of everything good and the number one reason people seek healthcare. Chronic pain lasts longer than three months and is fundamental for millions of people who live with it daily. A practical solution is imperative.

Since the 1960s, the most common solutions to managing chronic pain have focused on medical consumerism, also known as patient empowerment. This politically charged consumer rights movement, while concerned with the right to be safe, informed, to make choices, and to be heard, also advocates for the right to more pain medication. Over the decades, this practice of self-managed care escalated into ineffective pain management, eventually leading to the 2016 opioid crisis. Since then, doctors have been exploring pain management options with their patients to combat the widespread misuse of drugs for pain management.

As the healthcare system began to reexamine its approach to pain management, healthier options became available. One successful strategy is reducing the level of analgesics to the lowest necessary level and implementing a physical therapy regimen. This combination allows the body’s natural healing to occur unimpeded by the unnecessary use of opioids. Through education, decreasing analgesics and increasing physical therapy gained notoriety.

What Physical Therapists Do

Physical therapists are licensed clinical professionals. They have completed an accredited physical therapist education program, earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, and passed a national licensure examination. They coordinate with other professionals in the health care system, such as physicians, psychologists, and social workers. They are powerful warriors against the war on chronic pain. Their organized arsenal includes three steps. First, they determine the cause and impact of the pain. This includes determining risk factors such as disease history of diabetes and arthritis, cognitive and psychological factors, negative beliefs about one’s condition, and a sedentary lifestyle. Second, they define goals with the patient, and third, they establish an individualized treatment program. The resulting methods are different for each patient. Techniques may include therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, patient education, stress management, sleep management, and pain neuroscience education. The physical therapist develops and administers your plan. It’s personal. They make sure you are progressing and modify your plan as needed.

Chronic pain stemming from low back pain, before and after surgery, hip and knee osteoarthritis, and musculoskeletal conditions has shown significant improvement with management and prevention through restorative therapy, a purposeful examination of not only the symptoms of pain but also the movement patterns contributing to it. This multidisciplinary strategy promotes optimal physical function. It is a powerful tool to combat chronic pain while bypassing the unwanted effects of opioid usage.

Everett Physical Therapist

Physical therapy treatments focused on managing symptoms have had positive effects on fibromyalgia patients. Based on aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening and stretching positively impacted pain intensity, quality of life, stiffness, fatigue, and physical function. In addition, resistance exercises, aquatic exercises, massage, and therapy sessions with electrical currents have demonstrated a reduction in chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia.

Untreated, chronic pain can continue for months or years. Physical therapy provides an effective, non-invasive, non-opioid solution for lifelong pain management. Call our office in Everett to learn more about our physical therapy programs or contact us here.