APTQI Member Confluent Health Presents Documentary Feature: Pain, Misunderstood
With a vision to unpack the myths and truths surrounding chronic pain experiences in the U.S., APTQI member Confluent Health released a documentary featuring patient stories of chronic pain and their physical therapists who are helping them treat, manage, and overcome it. Pain, defined as unpleasant sensory and emotional experiences one gets resulting from an injury, affects millions of people nationwide. For conditions like chronic pain that persists for over three months despite injuries being seemingly ‘healed,’ simple solutions like drugs or injections are unfeasible and can have devastating consequences.
As Pain, Misunderstood highlights, without access to or knowledge of physical therapy as a treatment to manage chronic pain, many people are excessively prescribed opioids for pain management, rather than truly addressing the underlying causes of their pain. Since 1999 to today, opioid prescriptions have increased from 75M to upwards of 280M, leading to rising numbers of American mortalities and active addictions as a result. One patient featured in the documentary revealed how she stayed in the same amount of pain while becoming dependent on opioid pills, and the pain only seemed to increase. After seeking out physical therapy through Confluent—despite saying how she thought physical therapy was hopeless and there was no answer but a pill—she was able to get off opioids and return to normal life, walking and hiking again, and successfully managing her pain.
Helping patients understand the anatomical and biomechanical causes of chronic pain can ensure personalized and non-pharmacological treatment plans. Dr. Stephen Clark, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, CCO of Confluent, notes in an interview in the documentary that ” Pain isn’t necessarily a sign to stop, it’s a sign to listen. When a patient trusts a provider, that really is the foundation for a therapeutic improvement, and when a patient knows that the therapist has their best interest in mind and the good of their outcome in mind, that patient’s going to be willing to try to do new things that they wouldn’t have otherwise.” By establishing trusting relationships with patients, physical therapists help patients reduce pain-related fear and promote steps to manage their condition safely and effectively, thereby enabling them to lead a normal and empowered life.
To watch Confluent Health’s Pain Misunderstood documentary, click here.