Did you know that opioids like morphine and oxycodone are making your pain condition worse? Drugs like these alter your perception of pain, but they don’t relieve it. So, if you’re taking an opioid and believe it’s relieving your pain, know that it’s doing nothing to improve your pain symptoms, it’s only masking them!
Opioids are not the only option you have to get relief. Physical therapy can help you find the peace you’re longing for. To learn more about how physical therapists can help you kick your pain medication dependence, call our clinic today. We’d be happy to schedule a consultation to provide you more information and evaluate your pain condition.
Why are opioids so dangerous?
To understand why opioids are so dangerous, you first have to understand how your brain processes pain.
Let’s say you bang your knee on the doorjamb. 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.
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!
Choosing physical therapy instead.
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, it 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. 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.
You can say “no” to opioids with the help of physical therapy. Chronic pain can make you curl up in bed and turn to opioids for pain management. It’s important to note that physical therapy can be implemented to treat all types of neuropathic pain and musculoskeletal pain. It can help alleviate pain due to several pain conditions, including:
- Osteoarthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Neuropathic pain
- Work injuries
- Sports-related injuries
- Headaches and more
How can a physical therapist relieve pain without medication?
A physical therapist uses the fundamental sciences of biomechanics, pathology, and kinesiology to formulate a specific exercise treatment plan for patients.
They utilize many different pain management methods, such as deep tissue massage, manipulation of bones, manual therapy, cold laser therapy, microcurrent stimulation, movement therapy, and exercise.
Deep tissue massage enhances oxygen and nutrients to travel to the affected area. Cold laser therapy is used to lessen pain, reduce inflammation and release endorphins. Microcurrent stimulation emits alpha waves to increase dopamine and serotonin to alleviate pain naturally.
The exercise plan that a physical therapist will devise for you will be focused on strengthening the muscles, increasing enduring, developing more flexibility in the joints and muscles, and create stability in the joints.
Exercise may involve walking on a treadmill or specific exercises to strengthen the muscles. Keep in mind that just 30 minutes of exercise a day will help you with pain management.
Physical therapy is a multi-pronged approach to lessening pain. With exercise, massage, and manipulation, the body is encouraged to produce natural pain-relieving chemicals and to heal itself. Both tissue and bone will remodel with physical therapy.
A physical therapist will work closely with you and your doctor to find an effective treatment plan for your pain.
What is the goal of physical therapy?
Physical therapy is effective for avoiding unnecessary surgery and for developing a dependence on opioids. This is why physical therapy is often the first point of entry in the healthcare system for pain management.
The goal of physical therapy is to improve function and reduce pain. Both active and passive modalities are used to do this. Pain education is an important component of physical therapy intervention as well. A physical therapist will educate you on the source of your pain and give you tips on how to manage your daily activities to reduce or eliminate pain.
Ready to get back to feeling your best?
All around, physical therapy is a much safer route for pain relief than opioids. If you’re suffering in pain, say “no” to opioids and “yes” to physical therapy. Contact Nebraska Orthopaedic Physical Therapy today to speak with one of our licensed and skilled physical therapists, and let us help you get on the right path to true, natural pain relief.
