Movement is Medicine: Physical Therapy For Free?
Every year, physical therapists around the country conduct thousands of studies to better learn how to more effectively treat the wide variety of injuries that they are presented with each day.
Research on pain management has been especially relevant in light of the opioid crisis, and while not all pain that drives the opioid epidemic is purely physical, most of it is, especially at the onset. This fact alone is why it has been proven time and time again that the earlier a patient seeks treatment after sustaining an injury, the more quickly and more fully, a recovery can be achieved.
This is a fact so well established that one of the largest health care insurers in the country is developing and implementing a pilot program designed to encourage patients to seek physical therapy treatment as quickly as possible after sustaining an injury. They are working to make appointments easier to make, easier to get to, but most of all, easier to pay for – much easier. The proposal actually waives all copays associated with the first physical therapy treatments, making treatment essentially free with respect to out of pocket costs associated with accessing treatment.
This pilot program accelerates the practical application of findings from a joint study conducted by the American Physical Therapy Association and United Healthcare on the impacts of early physical therapy and other non-opioid strategies to address low back pain in particular. The findings echo those found in previous studies, in which not only does early treatment decrease pain, improve quality of life and significantly decrease the risk of becoming addicted to opioids, but it makes a significant financial impact on the millions and billions of dollars in downstream costs associated with long term pain management.
Final details of this plan have yet to be revealed, but whether it is implemented in your area or not, please allow this to be a reminder of how important it is to seek physical therapy treatment for any pain and injuries you may be dealing with before allowing them to spiral into chronic pain or disability.
