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Neck, back pain? Seek physical therapy to avoid opioid abuse

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Are you suffering from neck, back and shoulder pain? If so, visiting a physical therapist early can reduce the consumption of opioids that can lead to their abuse as well as other health complications, suggests a study.

According to researchers from the Stanford University in the US, physical therapy can be a useful, non-pharmacologic approach for managing severe musculoskeletal pain.
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The study found that patients who had undergone early physical therapy used 10.3 per cent less opioid medication for knee pain; 9.7 per cent less for shoulder pain; and 5.1 per cent less for back pain in the period three months to a year after their diagnosis.

“This is not a world where there are magic bullets. But many guidelines suggest that physical therapy is an important component of pain management, and there is little downside to trying it,” said Eric Sun, Assistant Professor at the varsity.

“What our study found was that if you can get these patients on physical therapy reasonably quickly, that reduces the probability that they will be using opioids in the longer term,” said Sun.
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For the study, researchers included 88,985 patients.

Findings, published in the JAMA Network Open, showed that if a patient sought out physical therapy within the first 90 days of their diagnosis, he or she, on average, was less likely to fill an opioid prescription three months to a year after being diagnosed.

The results could be helpful to clinicians in search of pain-management options that carry fewer health risks than opioids, reduces pain and improves function for some musculoskeletal conditions, Sun noted.

Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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