Over the recent years, the number of patients having physical therapy for pain management has drastically increased. Physical therapy involves physical exercises such as stretching and a range of motion exercises aimed at maintaining flexibility, strength, and mobility. Physical therapy embraces hot and cold therapy to mitigate pain in body parts. Chronic pain among people is one of the major ailments which have presented itself people around the world. People have, over the years, been using drugs in mitigating chronic pains. There has been a persistent use of prescribed medicines to manage pain. Improvement in technology and medical skills have significantly affected the use physical therapy in pain management. According to medical practitioners, physical therapy can be used as an alternative to drugs for healing chronic pains. There has been an improvement in the quality and safety for physical therapy due to the increased demand (Collins 20).
Chronic pains may lead to prolonged use of medicine in order to ease aches. Although physical exercise may present itself as a way of easing the pains, most patients seem reluctant on using the method. According to Tom Watson, a medical director, physical therapy has effectively helped in pain management for all chronic pains. The use of medicine usually has side effects for some patients. As a result, some patients have opted physical therapy for healing chronic pains. Chronic pains have caused patients to continue using drugs in managing pains. This has a significant effect on the body. People who take different prescriptions and nonprescription medications do not get effective relief from chronic pains. As a result, the use of such medications to relieve chronic pains lead to unwanted side effects to its users (Hughes 1).
According to research findings, all medicines have side effects. However, some of the side effects are manageable in order to allow patients to continue using medications. There are various side effects caused by the use of medications. They range from nausea, rash, liver damage, fatigue among others. Policies to minimize the use of medications for pain management should be put forward in order to avoid serious side effects. An analysiss and review of policy implementation for the use of medication to relieve pain will be discussed (Driver 2).
Medical consultants and doctors prescribe for a drug that offer more benefits to patients and few risks. This implies that doctors give medication to heal chronic pain with less or no side effects to patients . Use of double the medication by patients does not fasten the pain relieve process. By contrast, taking more than the stipulated dose may give rise to serious side effect problems. As a result of the problems associated with taking medication for healing chronic pains, there should be a policy that will minimize the establishment of over the counter medicine outlets in order to prevent the effects of combining different drugs. Patients need to understand the aspect of drug interaction. This is the interaction of various drugs like herbal medicines and supplements. Therefore, it is important to understand the entire functioning of drugs before usage. Patients are advised to seek medical counseling from relevant medical doctors (Gwyer and Hack 1).
According to an article on the chronic pain report, pain relieving medications are meant to cure pain in the body. Although the medicines are prescribed to relieve chronic pains, they come with problematic issues on the body. Side effects and complications associated with taking chronic pain medication may lead to injury of vital body organs. As a result, the health condition of the patients deteriorates leading to serious health issues. An article on the side effects of pain medication, chronic pain medication usually has adverse side effects on the Central Nervous System. Other serious effects include the gastrointestinal function, cardiovascular, urinary and respiratory systems. Several studies have stipulated that most patients usually suffer from ailments related to taking non-prescribed medications (Gwyer and Hack 20).
Lack of necessary prescription details on taking chronic pain medications can lead to health complications. There are a number of reasons and mistakes patients make in taking pain medications. Some of these reasons are usually caused by lack of proper channels of administering medication to patients. Medical practitioners have emphasized on the use of the prescribed medicine by either a medical consultant or a doctor. It is advisable to check out the suitable medication from a medical consultant. There are myriad issues that have led to adoption of physical therapy to use of medication. As a result, physical therapy policies should be implemented in order to prevent pain medication side effects from drugs used in pain management (Harding 22).
There should be a clear guideline on purchase and usage of pain medications. Patients are advised to seek medical consultations in order to minimize chances of contracting ailments related to pain medications. There are some chronic pain medications which have an addiction effect on patients. According to medical practitioners, drug addiction can be described as a behavioral problem that occurs when someone has a craving for a drug. Drug addiction patients take chronic pain medicine due to the craving. This may be the case because the craving for the drug may not be correlated with the pain. Some of the addictive drugs include opiate relievers. Patients taking opiate pain relievers should seek medical consultations in order to reduce chances of addiction. Opiate pain medications cause blurred vision, confusion, constipation, and loss of sexual desire. As a result of such adverse effect of various aspects, pain relievers should be taken under the doctor’s prescriptions (Jeffrey 2).
Integrative medicine for pain relievers is a blend of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional western medicine. The method comprises of body exercises and a combination of mind, body, and spirit. It is also referred to as a holistic approach. These methods have been adopted as alternatives for the pain drug medication. In the recent years, people have realized the importance of physical therapy to mitigate body pains. As a result, therapy institutions have been established to deal with the issue. Medical practitioners should come up with policies that ensure patient safety when taking chronic pain medications (Gina 5).
Physical Therapy for Pain Management
Physical therapy has been widely used in the treatment of chronic pain. For instance, therapists have relieved the patients’ chronic headaches, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. According to a medical director, Watson, one of the objectives of pain management is to make patients stronger since they are usually weak. Physical therapy can help patients develop better methods of moving safely. He suggests that patients visit physical therapists for their own health safety and proper functioning of the body (Rodriguez 1).
Physical Therapy: Chronic Pain Treatment Options
Physical therapy involves various methods of pain management, which can be combined in treating chronic pain problems. Some of the methods used in chronic pain treatment include massage, manual therapy using hands or tools on soft body tissue, manipulation of joints and bones, movement therapy and exercise, cold laser therapy, and microstimulation. Each of the above categories has various body treatment strategies to offer. For instance, patients may walk on a treadmill or swim in a pool depending on the patient’s intensity of pain and physical strengths. A physical therapist has a one on one contact with the patient. It is for this reason that makes physical therapy work effective in patients. Physical therapists have time to talk to patients to understand the type of chronic pain. A clear knowledge and understanding allows the physical therapist to employ a suitable method on patients depending on the type of chronic pain. Physical therapy has an added advantage over the regular doctor’s drug prescription to the patient. Physical therapists spend a lot of time with their patients as they perform various exercises. Therefore, a direct contact during an exercise session and questioning the patient makes physical therapy a better method of pain management (Rodriguez 27).
How Physical Therapy Controls Chronic Pain
According to Watson, physical exercise for about 30 minutes daily helps to reduce chances of chronic pain on individuals. Physical therapy helps patients in strengthening muscles, endurance, flexibility in the joints and muscle, and stability in the joints. Regular physical exercises help in control of chronic pain. Maintenance of body fitness also helps patients to become flexible and avoid being disabled by the chronic pain. Physical therapy involves the physical part of the inflammation, massage, soreness with exercise, and stiffness will work to enable the body to heal. The body is able to release pain relieving chemicals through physical therapy. These strategies make physical therapy work effectively in chronic pain management (Foley 2).
According to the Food and Drug Administration agency, there was a motion to ban the use of painkillers Vicodin and Percocet. The agency panel of the commission had suggested that some of the painkillers used in the market had significant side effects on human beings. By contrast, doctors held an opposing side of the agency’s view. According to the FDA, a lot of patients had suffered from pain medication side effects over the recent years. As a result, the agency had decided to put a ban on the use of some painkillers in the market. It is certain that removing these painkillers from the market would cause a serious chronic pain problem. Most of the patients have continually used painkillers to ease chronic pain. Removal of painkillers from the market will adversely affect drug users (Mayo Clinic staff 2).
Patients using opioids drugs risk contracting problem that cause addictions from the use drugs. Addiction from drug usage should be addressed in order to avoid reliance on drugs. There has been mixed feelings about the use of certain drugs as a result of their effects on body organs. Policies on pain medication over-the-counter have been implemented to avoid drug abuse. According to the FDA, prescription of some painkillers that comprise acetaminophen with narcotics was prohibited. According to the panel, removal of the drug from the market would create more problems. As a result, it suggested on reduction of the acetaminophen content in the drugs. Patients were also advised of the risks they faced if they continually used the drug. For instance, the use of drugs with acetaminophen contents caused liver damages (Khazzoom 3).
Apart from banning the use of these medicines, there are other methods of dealing with the painkillers’ problem. For instance, legitimizing the sale of painkillers to patients and controlling the use of drugs with adverse side effects. According to reports, the use of chronic pain relievers has been a point of discussion among various medical oversight boards and medical practitioners. There are no guidelines and rules which have been implemented on usage control of the painkillers. However, physicians and some medical practitioners have suggested the use of physical therapy to alleviate chronic pain medication side effects. There are adverse side effects associated with the use of some painkiller drugs such as acetaminophen. According to United States reports on chronic pain relievers, there are high percentages of individuals addicted to the use of painkillers. It is advisable that patients should try physical therapy as a method of relieving chronic pain. Policies for administration of painkillers to patients have been implemented. This has significantly affected prescription of pain medication on patients since physicians can risk imprisonment (Novella 1).
Physical therapy has and will become the most preferred method of managing chronic pain among patients. There has been a proposal to use opium in order to help prevent the shortage of painkillers. Afghanistan has been the biggest producer of opium around the world. According to United Nation's drug fighting agency, the use of opium in Afghanistan has significantly increased. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has rejected the proposal to use opium as a substitute for painkillers. In its statement, the agency stipulated that this action would lead to increased criminal activity and risk creating false hopes to farmers. The shortage of opiate medicine to cure chronic pain has been on the rise. According to research findings, most of the opiate users do not have a prescription from the doctor. The increased use of opiate among patients has been of concern to many health practitioners and health institutions around the world (Driver 2).
Some policies have had serious implications for patients and to the economy in general. Patients’ safety and care have been of crucial importance to doctors and medical research institutes. According to research findings, policies to eradicate painkillers from the market would create a bigger problem. This is because patients who have been using these drugs for a while experience severe chronic pains, if they fail to take the medication. Some health authorities have advised the community to use medication as prescribed by the doctors so as to minimize complications in using drugs. The use of physical therapy has also been a point of discussion among medical practitioners on how it can effectively substitute the use of drugs.
In conclusion, the best policy suggestion to help solve the chronic pain medication side effects would be to put a ban on some specific drugs which have serious side effects and cause damage to body organs. For instance, some of the chronic painkiller drugs containing acetaminophen and narcotics should be completely eliminated from the market. Through this policy, drug addiction among patients would be reduced. A law should be formulated to prevent the use of such medicine. Therefore, implementation of drug policy to cut off the use of such drugs would help reduce problems associated with such medication. Physical therapy should also be highly recommended in the treatment of pain since it has no side effects as compared to the use of drugs.
Works Cited
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