Chronic pain affects more than 50 million people in the U.S and 3.4 million of those say it interferes with their daily lives and work. It takes a mix of targeted exercise and education to help alleviate patients of these debilitating symptoms.

All patients experience pain differently. Some hurt all over, while others describe sharp stabs in specific areas. Chronic pain wears patients down causing them to feel anxious, fatigued and depressed. In this WorkersCompensation.com article, MedRisk’s VP of Clinical Services & Provider Management Brian Peers, DPT, MBA, discusses what patients can expect from PT designed to ease chronic pain and help them return to work and, most importantly, feel and function better.

“People – being individual as they are – respond differently to treatment – and this is true of those in chronic pain,” said Peers. “There are fantastic success stories of chronic-pain patients who have taken large doses of opioids for years and who then go to physical therapy and are able to taper off medication and overcome pain with the right exercise regimen.”

To learn more about PT’s important role in addressing the causes and challenges of chronic pain, read the full article.