No Pain, More Gain: Become an Advocate for Safer Pain Relief

Summary

You’ve read the statistics about opioid abuse in America. You’ve seen the increasing damage and devastation that prescription medication addiction has caused across the country. What often remains behind closed doors is each person’s unique experience and daily struggles with pain. Healthcare professionals know the debilitating effects and the life-altering consequences their patients face, but this epidemic also suggests that there are many others who could use help. They need an evidence-based approach from someone who has a broader perspective than just using pills.

Stop the Problem Before it Even Starts

Musculoskeletal pain plagues millions of Americans, and many are still searching for answers. At the onset of pain, most sufferers do what they think is right: visit a physician to obtain medication that will mask their symptoms so they can make it through the day. Unfortunately, some of the side effects are more dangerous than many people realize.

“Pain is a big factor,” said Dr. Kevin Wilk PT DPT, FAPTA. “Many times when we see patients after injury or after surgery they have poor strategies at managing pain. Physicians often prescribe medications, and unfortunately, those medications lead to addiction problems. We as health care providers have to provide strategies such as modalities, exercise and other treatment regimens to provide alternatives.”

People everywhere still don’t know that seeking the expertise of a physical therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist or athletic trainer can help them not only achieve substantial pain relief, but also fix the underlying dysfunctions that are causing pain in the first place.

Education is a vital step to guiding the public to discover the safest and most effective musculoskeletal pain relief methods. Performance Health is dedicated to the urgent need for action and education, which is why we’ve created the Safer Pain Relief campaign: a robust national campaign promoting hands-on healthcare professionals and their care as a safer alternative to opioids and NSAIDs. We’ve also enlisted the help of professional quarterback Drew Brees and a group of leading professionals to act as spokespeople.

At saferpainrelief.org, we make it easy for you to get involved by providing you with resources you can use in your clinic to gain new patients and educate your local community. Here’s what you need to do:

Get Involved – We’re making you a part of the solution with tools like our free marketing kit. Reach out to your local community and educate them about the role you play in safer musculoskeletal pain relief.
Join the Network – Biofreeze Professional Finder is a free search engine that connects patients seeking hands-on health care with local professionals like you. Sign up today and start making a difference in your neighborhood!
Stay Up-To-Date – We’ve compiled a database of content from industry leaders addressing the relationship between professional care and opioid addiction. Read up on the latest research and insights to better inform your staff, your patients and yourself!

We’ve also created a portal for patients to learn more about muscle and joint pain. On the Safer Pain Relief site, patients will be empowered to understand their pain, discover relief options and manage their pain in a simple, easy-to-digest format. Share this downloadable PDF with the colleagues and patients in your network to start making a difference.

Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk

Don’t worry. We understand that solutions will vary and prescription medications may be needed for some. But, for those suffering from acute or chronic musculoskeletal pain, non-prescription pain relief methods, products and approaches can be a critical first step. Our mission is to help people understand the full range of pain relief options – and the associated risks and side effects – so they apply the safest, most effective solutions for their unique needs.

“It’s so important that patients and the public take these alternatives very seriously because, at the end of the day, they work,” said Dr. Jay Greenstein, DC, CCSP, CKTP, CGFI. “They actually help patients feel better and it’s not just about reducing their pain or just the pain relief. There’s experience and expertise that they can only find in our clinics that allow them to do more because they’re feeling better.”

The best way to achieve safer pain relief is to combine professional care with professional products. At Performance Health, we take pride in providing tools that promote safe, effective pain relief. With product lines like TheraBand® Resistance Bands, Biofreeze®, TheraBand® XactStretch™ Kinesiology Tape, TheraPearl® and more, we not only have quality products that work, but we’ve got the research to back it up. Add each to your toolkit and check out these impactful studies that have changed the way that clinicians around the world approach musculoskeletal pain relief:

TheraBand Resistance Band Pain Relief Studies

Scapular function training with elastic bands reduces pain intensity and increases shoulder elevation strength in adults with chronic non-specific pain in the neck and shoulder region. The magnitude of improvement in pain intensity was clinically relevant (Andersen et al. 2014).

As little as two minutes of daily progressive resistance training five days a week with an elastic band results in clinically relevant reductions of neck and shoulder pain and tenderness in office workers (Andersen et al. 2011).

A supervised neck and shoulder elastic resistance-based exercise regimen was effective in reducing neck pain cases in Air Force helicopter pilots. This was supported by improvement in neck-flexor function post-intervention (Ang et al. 2009).

TheraBand exercise improves knee pain in females. At the 12-month follow-up, 85% of the subjects were participating in sports without pain and 37 subjects rated their overall knee function as excellent or good (Thomee 1997).

A home-based exercise program with TheraBand resistance bands can significantly reduce osteoarthritic knee pain (Thomas et al. 2002).

TheraBand resistance band training improves function and reduces pain in knee osteoarthritis (Topp et al. 2002).

This TheraBand exercise program for chronic neck pain provides long-term reduction in pain (Ylinen et al. 2006).

TheraBand exercise improve cervicogenic headache by 58-69% (Ylinen et al. 2010).

A TheraBand exercise program of isolated hip abductor and external rotator strengthening was effective in improving pain and health status in females with patellofemoral pain (Khayambashi et al. 2012).

Two minutes of daily elastic resistance training for ten weeks reduces headache frequency among office workers with neck and shoulder pain (Andersen et al. 2011).

Following an elastic resistance training and balance training program, older adults found a 46% decrease in knee pain. Such a reduction in knee pain may allow individuals with knee pain to exercise and continue to improve strength and function, leading to less disability (Hasegawa et al. 2010).

Workplace physical exercise with TheraBand elastic resistance is more effective than home-based exercise in reducing musculoskeletal pain, increasing muscle strength and reducing the use of analgesics among healthcare workers (Jakobsen et al. 2015).

Results suggest a home exercise program with elastic resistance can be effective in reducing symptoms and improving function in construction workers with shoulder pain (Ludewig, Borstad 2003).

TheraBand XactStretch Kinesiology Tape Pain Relief Studies

A meta-analysis of research found kinesiology tape significantly reduces chronic musculoskeletal pain (Lim, Tay 2015).

Kinesiology taping provided significant improvements in pain and disability in acute, non-specific low back pain (Kelle et al. 2016).

Paired with rehabilitative exercises, kinesiology tape is as effective as medication for shoulder impingement pain (Devereaux et al. 2016).

Thermal Therapy Pain Relief Studies

The addition of a 30-minute topical application of a heating pad or cold pack to ibuprofen therapy for the treatment of acute neck or back strain results in a mild yet similar improvement in the pain severity (Garra et al. 2010).

The use of low-level continuous heat as an adjunct to conventional physical therapy for chronic knee pain significantly improved pain attenuation and recovery of strength and movement in patients with chronic knee pain (Petrofsky et al. 2016).

Stay Informed

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Sources:

Andersen CH et al. 2014. Effect of scapular function training on chronic pain in the neck/shoulder region: a randomized controlled trial. J Occup Rehabil 24(2):316-24.

Andersen LL et al. 2011. Effect of brief daily exercise on headache among adults – secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Scand J Work Environ Health 37(6):547-50.

Andersen LL et al. 2011. Effectiveness of small daily amounts of progressive resistance training for frequent neck/shoulder pain: Randomised controlled trial. Pain. Feb;152(2):440-6.

Ang BO et al. 2009. Neck/shoulder exercise for neck pain in air force helicopter pilots: a randomized controlled trial. Spine 15;34(16):E544-51.

Devereaux M et al. 2016. Short-Term Effectiveness of Precut Kinesiology Tape Versus an NSAID as Adjuvant Treatment to Exercise for Subacromial Impingement: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin J Sport Med. Jan;26(1):24-32.

Garra G et al. 2010. Heat or cold packs for neck and back strain: a randomized controlled trial of efficacy. Acad Emerg Med. 17(5):484-9.

Hasegawa R et al. 2010. Effects of combined balance and resistance exercise on reducing knee pain in community-dwelling older adults Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics 28(1):44-56

Jakobsen et al. 2015. Effect of workplace- versus home-based physical exercise on musculoskeletal pain among healthcare workers: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Scand J Work Environ Health 41(2):153-63

Kelle B et al 2016. The effect of Kinesio taping application for acute non-specific low back pain: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Clin Rehabil. 30(10):997-1003

Khayambashi et al. 2012. The Effects of Isolated Hip Abductor and External Rotator Muscle Strengthening on Pain, Health Status, and Hip Strength in Females With Patellofemoral Pain. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 42(1):22-29