美国国家公共电台 NPR Trying Physical Therapy First For Low Back Pain May Curb Use Of Opioids

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

A new study finds that when people with low back pain get physical therapy early on, they end up saving money on health care. They're also less likely to use addictive¹ painkillers². NPR's Patti Neighmond reports.

PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE³: It's estimated between $80 and $100 billion are spent every year in the U.S. on treatments for back pain. Researchers wanted to see if costs could be reduced if patients did physical therapy first before moving on to other treatments. The answer, says University of Washington health care economist⁴ Bianca Frogner, is yes.

BIANCA FROGNER: The most important part for patients is that they saw a significantly lower out-of-pocket cost, on the order of almost $500 less within a year.

NEIGHMOND: Frogner headed the study, which analyzed⁵ more than 150,000 commercial health insurance claims filed between 2009 and '13. They found patients who got physical therapy first had significantly fewer imaging tests like MRIs and CT scans and fewer visits to the ER compared to patients who didn't get physical therapy. And for these physical therapy patients, Frogner also found a dramatic decrease in the likelihood of being prescribed opioids for pain.

FROGNER: We need to look for better ways to help patients manage the current pain they have and prevent it from coming back into the future.

NEIGHMOND: The study wasn't designed to look directly at how well physical therapy reduces pain. But Frogner says previous research shows it can be highly effective.

FROGNER: Physical therapists are really well-positioned to provide ideas on exercises and movements and ways of living to really prevent the pain from getting worse and hopefully from ever coming back once it's gone.

NEIGHMOND: Officials with the American Pain Society say the findings are in line with their recommendations to provide nondrug therapy, including heat, massage⁶, acupuncture⁷ and physical therapy, as a first line of defense⁸ against pain. Pain medicine specialist Steven Stanos with the American Academy of Pain Medicine says the findings of the study offer an effective strategy to reduce patient dependence⁹ on opioids.

STEVEN STANOS: Less prescribing, potentially, would hopefully lead to less potential for harm for patients.

NEIGHMOND: One barrier to physical therapy - researcher Frogner says patients who may benefit from physical therapy often don't have access, sometimes because of health insurance restrictions¹⁰ or because they lack insurance, or the co-payments are just too high.

Patti Neighmond, NPR News.

1 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

2 painkillers   

n.止痛药( painkiller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some painkillers to ease the pain. 医生给了他一些止疼片以减缓疼痛。 来自辞典例句
• The primary painkillers - opiates, like OxyContin - are widely feared, misunderstood and underused. 人们对主要的镇痛药——如鸦片剂奥施康定——存在广泛的恐惧、误解，因此没有充分利用。 来自时文部分

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

5 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

7 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制