Category: Science

Do you consider the environment when deciding whether or not to recycle?  Of course you do.  But do you consider the environment when you have back pain that needs treating?  Perhaps you should!

The current mantra among physical therapists, "You’ve got Drugs, you’ve got Surgery, or you’ve got Physical Therapists," attempts to explain the choices patients have in managing their musculoskeletal dysfunction.  It’s no secret that of those choices, the pharmaceutical option is the big winner from an economic standpoint, if not from an actual effectiveness standpoint. 

Now, with reports of drug residue in our water supply, scientists are becoming concerned with the effects of all these drugs patients have been taking.  As physicians prescribe more and more drugs each year, this pollution can only be expected to get worse.

It is also no secret that drugs are often no better than a temporary fix when managing musculoskeletal pain.  Back pain and osteoarthritis respond much better to exercise than they do to any pharmaceutical.  In that sense, physical therapists can provide the natural, holistic approach to healing.  Exercise is a  free, renewable resource, and physical therapists stand little chance of polluting the water supply when using spinal manipulation. 

Taking drugs unnecessarily is bad for the environment.  Going to see a physical therapist is your environmentally friendly health care choice.  I guess riding your bike to the local physical therapist is even better…

Here is a post I wrote last year that’s worth checking out:

[Top 5 Physical Therapist Recommended Body Hacks]

ERIC

Image courtesy of Jack Brauer.

Physical Therapists don’t treat back pain!  Of course that’s not true.  Physical therapists are among the best providers for patients with back pain.  But, perceptions are everything.  Let me explain:

Earlier in February, an article was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which described increased spending for patients with back pain along side decreased outcomes.  This strongly hints that the health care system is treating back pain poorly and a situation of medical waste is occurring.  Check out some related blog posts.

Well, I sent a press release from AAOMPT to my local news and a couple weeks later a camera crew showed up at my office for an interview.  I proudly explained how physical therapists could help solve this problem and even demonstrated some manipulations and exercises.  However, when the interview aired I was none too pleased.

As you can see, the interview was pretty decent until they cut back to the anchors for a wrap who began babbling about chiropractic care and finished with, "So if you are experiencing back pain, make sure you contact your doctor or your chiropractor.."

Link to Video [NBC Augusta]

[Update 3/8/08:  NBC Augusta has temporarily removed the story in response to viewer comments…click the comments to this post below for details and a nice letter.]

AHHH! 

Is Physical Therapy’s image problem is so bad that, despite just running an interview that was with a physical therapist, that demonstrated physical therapist interventions, and that included statements that physical therapists can do more for less, the anchor’s sub-conscious defaulted to "back pain treatment = physician or chiropractor"?  I guess so.

This really demonstrates the huge challenge that our profession faces.  And, the poignant need for marketing and branding help on all levels.  Back pain is big business, but until people relate their back pain to a physical therapist all the time, we’re not a big enough part of it.

By the way, I was bummed they didn’t use my carefully dropped tag line of, "You’ve got drugs, you’ve got surgery, or you’ve got physical therapists."  Maybe the media just doesn’t get that line.

ERIC

US Sen Robert C Byrd fell down in his home and is scheduled for some physical therapy.  Sen Byrd will receive his rehab to improve his balance at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  I expect he will have a great experience, and will be in good hands as his physical therapist works to reduce his fall risk. 

You can read about the Walter Reed Physical Therapy Staff here.  Excellent credentials, but sadly no faces or names!

I can’t believe I read this in the actual news…one not written or published by a PT, that is.

"At least 10 outpatient physical therapy clinics across Southwest
Florida have closed since midsummer as a trio of trends has sapped the
businesses’ income."

The article goes on to give an excellent summary of the state of the PT union, including some notes on big mergers, Stark laws, Medicare caps, and the works. 

"If you’re going to do things the right way, what is best for the
patients and the ethical way, you’re going to lose a lot of money,"
said Karen Fitzpatrick, account Specialist for Bay Area Physical Therapy & Wellness.

The APTA even makes a slightly weak appearance as physician self-referral is discussed.

ERIC

I finally caught up to my collection of feed items and news that I accumulated over the holidays.  I’m glad I stuck it out and deliberately plodded through the piles of reading.  Otherwise, I would have missed this ruling in Wayne, NJ against a doctor-owned surgical center.  The 1989 Codey Act?  Huh? 

I guess charging fees for your surgical center is good business:

"Many of the physician-investors earned more money from [Wayne Surgical
Center’s] facility fees than they do from practicing medicine full-time"

Someone should have told these physician-investors to skip medical school and just go into real estate.  It would have been cheaper.

By the way, the post title refers to the fact that everyone who hails from Sussex, NJ for any appreciable amount of time is forced to drive through Wayne, NJ more often than they ever thought possible.

ERIC

Physical Therapists:  Is there some debt relief in your future?  The Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act (S 2485),
introduced Friday, Dec 14, includes PTs in the National Health Service
Corps Loan Repayment Program.

"As a result of the extensive education and clinical training required
to become a physical therapist, students often begin their careers with
significant levels of debt," said American Physical Therapy Association
(APTA) President R Scott Ward, PT, PhD.

ERIC