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Press Releases

OVER TREATING CHRONIC BACK PAIN: A US HEALTHCARE FAILURE

December 9, 2009

-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-

Middleburg, VA, January 26, 2009– Richard Deyo MD, the keynote speaker at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) National Conference in October 2008, has again published data indicting the US approach to chronic back pain dramatically increases costs without improved outcomes. Deyo and colleagues reported in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of American Board of Family Practice the following staggering statistics:

• A 629% increase in Medicare expenditures for epidural steroid injections;
• A 423% increase in expenditures for opioids for back pain;
• A 307% increase in the number of lumbar magnetic resonance images among Medicare beneficiaries;
• A 220% increase in spinal fusion surgery rates. (more…)

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR PAIN LEADING TO ALARMING RISE IN DEATHS

December 9, 2009

-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-

Physical Therapy an Alternative to the High Risks of Methadone

Middleburg, Virginia, August 18, 2008 – A recent investigative report1 published in the New York Times highlights the alarming increase in methadone prescriptions for the treatment of chronic spinal pain. The result has been a shocking increase in methadone related deaths. Physical therapists can play a role in providing patients and physicians with an alternative to dangerous pain medications like oxycodone and methadone. (more…)