In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical
companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become
addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe
them at greater rates.
Increased prescription of opioid
medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription
opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly
addictive.
Do Opioids help improve function?
“It’s not
clear [in clinical trials] that opiates actually improve function in the long
run,” she says. “In fact, there’s some evidence that people on chronic opiates
lose function over the long run.” Loss of function is due in part to the side
effects of these drugs, which include nausea, vomiting, and constipation. While
they might ease pain, the side effects can keep a person from getting on with
their life. What’s more, most people typically need to increase the dosage over
time to keep getting the same level of pain relief”
Crazy
numbers:
- ·
Over a 200%
increase in opioid overdoses since 2000
- ·
In 2015
alone, more than 30,000 people perished as the result of the overuse
- ·
Each day,
more than 40 Americans die from prescription opioid overdoses
- ·
The amount
of opioids prescribed and sold in the United States has quadrupled since 1999
with opioid-related deaths numbering more than 168,000
- ·
The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National
Survey Reports suggest there was a 2.2-fold increase in overdose deaths from
all drugs from 2002 to 2015, when more than 52,000 people died
- ·
From 1999
to 2016, more than 630,000 people have died from a drug overdose.
- ·
Around 66%
of the more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid.
- ·
In 2016,
the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription
opioids and illegal opioids like heroin and illicitly manufactured
fentanyl) was 5 times higher than in 1999.
- ·
On average,
115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose
One
of several solutions to managing pain
Physical
Therapy
Studies
have shown there is evidence that Physical Therapy Is effective in treating pain
and preventing chronic pain
For
example:
·
Low back pain
o A review of more than 60 randomized
controlled trials evaluating exercise therapy for adults with low back pain
found that such treatment can decrease pain, improve function, and help people
return to work.39 The American College
of Physicians states that “non-pharmacologic interventions are considered first-line
options in patients with chronic low back pain because fewer harms are
associated with these types of therapies than with pharmacologic options.”40
·
Before and after surgery
o A review of 35 randomized
controlled studies with a total of nearly 3,000 patients found that in patients
undergoing total hip arthroplasty, preoperative exercise and education led to
significant reductions in pain, shorter lengths of stay postoperatively, and improvements
in function.41
·
Arthritis
o Studies have shown that therapeutic
exercise programs can reduce pain and improve physical function among
individuals with hip and knee osteoarthritis.42,43
Chronic pain
can be devastating. You don’t just want to survive, you want to thrive. A
physical therapist can get you moving again, and moving = thriving
Get PT first before taking
opioids.
Drop the Pills!
