Browsing by Subject "Musculoskeletal pain"

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    Physical therapy and opioid use for musculoskeletal pain management: competitors or companions?
    (Pain reports, 2020-09-24) George, Steven Z; Goode, Adam P
    Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain conditions are highly prevalent and a leading cause of disability globally. When people with MSK pain seek health care, they often receive treatment not aligned with best practices, including initial management options such as opioids. In recent practice guidelines, nonpharmacological treatments have been emphasized for initial pain management, and physical therapists are providers who routinely deliver nonpharmacological treatments. The purpose of this review is to describe the current and future state for how physical therapy may be used to increase exposure to nonpharmacological treatments for MSK pain conditions. For the current state, we review existing observational evidence investigating early exposure to physical therapy and its influence on subsequent opioid use. For the future state, we propose clinical research questions that could define the role of physical therapy on interdisciplinary teams working towards improving effectiveness of nonpharmacological treatments through more rigorous study designs. These clinical questions are intended to guide health services research and clinical trials when building an evidence base of nonpharmacological care options for MSK pain conditions.
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    Willingness to use nonpharmacologic treatments for musculoskeletal pain in the emergency department: a cross-sectional study.
    (Pain reports, 2022-09) Eucker, Stephanie A; Foley, Shawna; Peskoe, Sarah; Gordee, Alexander; Risoli, Thomas; Morales, Frances; George, Steven Z

    Objectives

    Pain is an individual experience that should incorporate patient-centered care. This study seeks to incorporate patient perspectives toward expanding nonpharmacologic treatment options for pain from the emergency department (ED).

    Methods

    In this cross-sectional study of adult patients in ED with musculoskeletal neck, back, or extremity pain, patient-reported outcomes were collected including willingness to try and prior use of various nonpharmacologic pain treatments, sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, functional outcomes, psychological distress, and nonmusculoskeletal symptoms. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression identified variables associated with (1) willingness to try and (2) having previously tried nonpharmacologic treatments.

    Results

    Responses were analyzed from 206 adults, with a mean age of 45.4 (SD 16.4) years. The majority (90.3%) of patients in ED were willing to try at least one form of nonpharmacologic pain treatment, with 70.4%, 81.6%, and 70.9% willing to try respective subcategories of active (eg, exercise), passive (eg, heat), and psychosocial (eg, prayer) modalities. Only 56.3% of patients had previously tried any, with 35.0%, 52.4%, and 41.3% having tried active, passive, and psychosocial modalities, respectively. Patient-level factors associated with willingness included pain in upper back, more severe pain-related symptoms, and functional impairments. The factor most consistently associated with treatment use was health care provider encouragement to do so.

    Conclusions

    Patients in ED report high willingness to try nonpharmacologic treatments for pain. Higher pain severity and interference may indicate greater willingness, while health care provider encouragement correlated with treatment use. These findings may inform future strategies to increase the introduction of nonpharmacologic treatments from the ED.