Physical Therapy decreases opioid use
Seeing a physical therapist first for low back pain decreases overall out of pocket costs, opioid use, and less ER visits.
Study from the University of Washington and George Washington University
A study split patients into three groups. The first group saw a physical therapist first “PT first” group. A second group was “PT later” group, as they saw another provider initially, but eventually had physical therapy. The last group was “No PT” as they never had physical therapy.
This study found that the group that saw “PT first” for low back pain had lower costs for care vs the “PT later” and “No PT” groups (this includes what they are paying out of pocket). The “PT first” group also had lower costs with emergency room visits, imaging, and opioid use.
Physical Therapy reduces prescription medication use
What this means is that seeing a physical therapist can not only reduce your pain and use for prescription medication, it also costs you less! Since Oregon has direct access for physical therapists (by law, you do not need a physician referral to see a physical therapist), patients should be using this route directly for treatment of their low back pain. Call Nick Rinard Physical Therapy today and schedule your pain away! 503-244-6232
Source:
http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2016/2/29/PTFirstDirectAccessLBP/