Hi friends,

I see it nearly every week, a patient comes in with pain that they’ve been experiencing for many months. They’ve gone to their primary care physician, and on the first visit, they were solely prescribed an NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and maybe a muscle relaxer.

After that, if they still have pain, they may be referred to physical therapy. This should be the first step! Many doctors are now referring patients immediately to physical therapy if they have musculoskeletal pain. However, there are still numerous patients who are prescribed medications in hopes that they will get rid of the pain. Yes, medication can be great for alleviating pain in the short term, but it does nothing to address the cause of the pain.

Pain is your body’s way of telling you to protect an injured body part. It is a good thing to have temporarily to prevent further harm, but when short-term pain turns into chronic pain, then it is much harder to treat and manage. This is why it is crucial to see a physical therapist to address the cause of the pain right away.

Health literacy is one of the most important skills to learn. You need to advocate for your health, and this goes beyond just asking for a PT referral with muscle or joint pain. If you don’t feel like you’re being listened to fully by a healthcare provider, find a new one. Many healthcare providers truly want the best for the patient in front of them.

Preventive medicine is still relatively new and requires more knowledge from the patient to advocate for their health. Modern-day medicine is still stuck in what Peter Attia calls Medicine 2.0—diseases are mostly treated as they arise and the medical system is very good at treating illnesses once they commence. Medicine 3.0, on the other hand, is when the focus is on preventing diseases before they arise.

This is where treating pain needs to go. Medication should not be the only treatment for musculoskeletal pain. Your body is hurting for a reason and the cause needs to be identified, otherwise, it will likely come back.

Advocate for your health. Help the healthcare system move toward prevention rather than disease treatment.

Until next week,

Kevin