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Oct 05
2017

More Americans Are Choosing Physical Therapy Over Painkillers

It seems to be the way of modern health care to find a solution to your pain by offering medication, but this is changing. While there certainly are great uses for medication, opioids are among the most prescribed drugs in America– and are highly addictive. This has created a crisis in our country. However, there is hope. Results from a recent Gallup report show that more Americans are choosing physical therapy over painkillers.

Opioids are drugs that work on the nervous system to offer relief from pain. Staggering statistics from 2015 show that more than 33,000 people died from opioids. Since 1999, the number of opioid deaths has more than quadrupled. Most of those deaths were related to the use of the following opioids: oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and fentanyl.

The good news is that Americans are paying attention to and choosing alternatives to opioids such as physical therapy. A recently released report from data collected early this year shows that 78% of Americans will try other methods for pain management, rather than drugs prescribed by doctors.

Among these methods for pain management? Physical therapy. Physical therapists can use a range of modalities to help get and keep you out of pain. Physical therapy can also help you manage chronic pain, as an alternative to using opioids.

[ Related article: Physical Therapy Methods Explained ]

In the cases of back pain and neck pain, not only can physical therapy help to get you out of pain, it can also help to reduce and prevent pain from occurring in the future as well.

If you have pain or are suffering from chronic pain, there is hope other than opioids and painkillers, which can lead to addiction. A physical therapist at Above & Beyond Physical Therapy in Queen Creek or Phoenix can help get you out of pain or help you better manage chronic pain without the use of opioids.

Contact us to schedule your first appointment today and get on the track to living life pain free.