Kick The Pain Medication With Natural Pain Relief
If you are like the one in four American adults who suffer from arthritis symptoms, you are looking for options for managing the day to day aches and pains and often debilitating loss of mobility. Fortunately, there are many things you can do that, when combined with physical therapy, can improve your strength, increase your flexibility and help you manage your arthritis symptoms. While these tips are helpful, they work best when paired with professional treatment, call us today to learn how we can help you live pain-free!
Physical Therapy: A Healthier Option Than Opioid, Steroid and NSAID Use
If you keep up with the news on a daily basis, you’ve most likely heard about the dangers opioid medications pose. These narcotics, which include both illegal drugs and prescription medication, are the cause for at least 115 overdose deaths in America every single day. The APTA states that clinicians “[…] should consider opioid therapy only if expected benefits for both pain and function are anticipated to outweigh risks to the patient.” Opioids are extremely powerful and can interact with other drugs in a dangerous way. They also lead to abuse and addiction as well.
Steroids are another dangerous class of prescription medication, and pose many risks and dangers to your health. Epidural steroid injections are used to relieve pain, but can cause arthritis in the hips, cataracts, stomach ulcers, elevated blood sugar, and nerve damage stemming from the injection itself. Even ordinary NSAID’s such as ibuprofen are capable of causing liver problems and bleeding in the stomach, which is worrisome, because many people who don’t even have chronic injuries use these daily.
Physical therapy can prevent you from having to deal with all of these unpleasant side effects. Some cases of severe pain might still require you to take medication, but physical therapy helps plenty of patients decrease — or even eliminate — their dependence on pain medication.
How Can a Physical Therapist Relieve Your Pain
If you keep up with the news on a daily basis, you’ve most likely heard about the dangers opioid medications pose. These narcotics, which include both illegal drugs and prescription medication, are the cause for at least 115 overdose deaths in America every single day.
The APTA states that clinicians “[…] should consider opioid therapy only if expected benefits for both pain and function are anticipated to outweigh risks to the patient.” Opioids are extremely powerful and can interact with other drugs in a dangerous way. They also lead to abuse and addiction as well.
Steroids are another dangerous class of prescription medication, and pose many risks and dangers to your health.
How Can a Physical Therapist Relieve Your Pain?
Since everyone is different, and everyone’s pain conditions vary, physical therapy treatments must as well! Your physical therapy pain management plan might be different from someone else’s, depending on your specific problem. If you are struggling with pain from a recent injury, your therapist might decide to use massage therapy, heat, ice, ultrasound, or other techniques to ease your pain and speed up the healing process.
When you are able to safely move around and exercise, a physical therapist will prescribe easy stretches, walking, swimming, or cycling to help with the mobilization process. These kinds of physical therapy are great for helping restore movement to soft tissues, allowing them to move more easily and comfortably. They are also good for keeping arthritic joints mobile and lubricated.