Are you getting referrals from local MDs?

• New low back pain guidelines are opening the door wide for evidence aligned clinicians that focus on posture.

Physicians’ guidelines for treating low back pain don’t usually make mainstream media headlines, but the 2017 update from the American College of Physicians (ACP) recently did. Last updated in 2007, America’s largest medical-specialty society (148,000 members) is now advising physicians to avoid prescribing drugs for “non-radicular low back pain” because research shows a better alternatives for managing back pain is chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and Motor Control Exercise (MCE)!

This is a historic opportunity for bio-mechanically oriented practices to connect with physicians who see patients with back pain. Especially if they teach MCE’s. MCE is not just any exercise, and it’s more than just rehab. MCE like yoga, tai chi and the StrongPosture® protocols focus awareness and attention to systematically retrain fine control towards greater accuracy.

Watch the video presentation with Dr. Steven Weiniger, the Posture Expert, learn to differentiate yourself with posture rehab protocols. Posture literally sets the baseline for all locomotor function, and strengthening postural symmetry and function is the base of effective MCE. It’s also a great framework for communicating bio-mechanics to patients, the public and other professionals. And physicians from orthopedists to neurologists to PCPs all understand that when someone stands adaptively, their motion is adaptive.

Whether you’re already using the PostureZone® app to take posture pictures or just getting started focusing on posture, Dr. Weiniger will show you how the PostureZone® framework and StrongPosture® Motion Control Exercises (MCE) protocols are the foundation for referrals for the successful PosturePractice.

Join the CPEP® Network and specialize in posture rehab.

1-  Shumway-Cook A, Woollacott MH. Motor Control: Translating Research into Clinical Practice, 4th ed: Lippincott; 2012.

2- Weiniger, S, Stand Taller Live Longer: An Anti-Aging Strategy, BodyZone Press, 2008

President Obama recently pledged a billion dollars to a war on opioid abuse, with financial incentives for addiction centers, new nasal sprays for OD’s, and “guidelines to improve the way opioids are prescribed, and help providers offer safer, more effective chronic pain treatment.”

Potentially this is good news for those of us treating back and spine pain naturally, with the added opportunity for CPEPs and other posture professionals to engage MDs in the spine care world with non-pharm alternatives.

Back pain is a frequent reason for opioid use, but according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ opioids aren’t terribly effective for many patients. A recently published study in their official journal found patients who were prescribed opioids for chronic lower back pain had significantly less pain relief and were more likely to abuse their medication when there’s a psychological issue like depression or anxiety. With opioid use, patients with a history of mental illness experienced a mere 21% improvement in back pain, and those who were not (yet) showing signs of depression or anxiety showed just a 39% improvement.

According to study author Ajay Wasan, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, “Learning that we are able to better predict treatment success or failure by identifying patients with these conditions is significant. This is particularly important for controlled substances such as opioids, where if not prescribed judiciously, patients are exposed to unnecessary risks and a real chance of harm, including addiction or serious side effects.”

BOTTOM LINE:
Treat low back pain conservatively at first, and always address posture. Communicate this message to other health care providers with intelligence, and you may be surprised at the referrals.

PosturePractice Insight: In addition to relieving pain, teaching people to find and strengthen lost motion patterns with StrongPosture® exercise protocols engages and then empowers them for self-managment. And empowering someone to better control their bodies can can be a powerful antidote for depression.

Cited Study

Wasan, A. D., Michna, E., Edwards, R. R., Katz, J. N., Nedeljkovic, S. S., Dolman, A. J., . . . Jamison, R. N. (2015). Psychiatric comorbidity is associated prospectively with diminished opioid analgesia and increased opioid misuse in patients with chronic low back pain. Anesthesiology, 123(4), 861-72. doi:10.1097/ALN.000000000000076. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26375824