A 2010 study in the journal Spine reports that physical therapy within the first thirty days of the onset of low back pain can reduce the chances that patients will need additional medical procedures and treatments. The same study also reports that physicians in “generalist” specialties are less likely to refer patients to physical therapy.
(San Antonio, TX – December 16, 2010)
A 2010 study in the journal Spine reports that physical therapy within the first thirty days of the onset of low back pain can reduce the chances that patients will need additional medical procedures and treatments. The same study also reports that physicians in “generalist” specialties are less likely to refer patients to physical therapy. Texas Physical Therapy Specialists’(TexPTS) physical therapists in San Antonioand Austin, Texas, help patients avoid expensive and invasive injections, surgery, and frequent doctor office visits.
The 2010 Spine Journal reports on the relationship between early physical treatment for low back pain and other healthcare procedures, such as injections, surgery, and office visits. The study group in this report consisted of Medicare patients 66 years of age or older who received treatment for low back pain from 2003-2004. The odds of requiring surgery for low back pain were reduced by 62% in the group of patients who received physical therapy within thirty days of the onset of low back pain. Likewise the odds of receiving an injection was reduced by 54% and the odds of frequent physician office visits were reduced by 53%.
Also noted was that primary care, internal medicine, and emergency doctors refer the lowest rate of patients to physical therapy out of any other specialties. Referrals from these doctors is where the most opportunity exists for physical therapy to effectively help patient to avoid higher cost and more invasive treatments, because they typically see patients “upstream” or within the first thirty days of the onset of pain.
“I experienced vast improvement in my pain level, range of motion, and flexibility. I was also given a home therapy instructional that I can use for life,” stated a recent TexPTS physical therapy patient. Physical therapy provides a solution to back pain, rather than masking the symptoms, like prescriptions and injections can sometimes do. Physical therapists at TexPTS not only provide helpful hands-on therapy in the clinic, but they also provide at-home exercises and stretching that patients can use for the rest of their lives in order to stay healthy and pain-free.
“Physical therapy is an extremely effective alternative to surgery, injections, prescriptions, and frequent doctor office visits, especially if patients come in during the first thirty days that they start feeling pain,” says Dr. Robert Wainner, a physical therapy professor at Texas State University , leading musculoskeletal researcher, and therapist/owner at TexPTS. “Patients need to educate themselves in the various treatment options in order to navigate the complicated health care world. There are so many options out there, and if patients don’t know what to ask for, they may not get the very best treatment for their problem.”
When your physician refers you to physical therapy, you have a choice regarding who you see. TexPTS invites you to choose their physical therapists, Austin and San Antonio’s spine experts, for your needs. To learn more about TexPTS visit TexPTS.com.
About Texas Physical Therapy Specialists:
Texas Physical Therapy Specialists (TexPTS) is a private physical therapy practice with locations throughout San Antonio, Austin, and Tyler. Known for teaching and training physical therapists all over the U.S., TexPTS physical therapists pride themselves in being spine experts. They deliver hands-on physical therapy based on the newest research to achieve the best results for patients with bad backs, achy joints, wounded hands, and work injuries. Along the way, the TexPTS family has fun and makes friends with their patients (and their pets, their kids, their in-laws, and neighbors….). Perhaps this is why they were voted the Best Private Physical Therapy Practice in the U.S. in 2009 by their peers in the American Physical Therapy Association. For more information visit TexPTS.com or find TexPTS on Facebook.com.
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