Last Updated on August 28, 2025 by Beth Skwarecki
Chronic pain is holding a lot of people back from living their normal lives. In the United States, over 50 million adults are plagued with chronic pains on an almost daily basis. This makes it difficult for them to complete daily tasks, attend work, or even take care of their basic needs. Most people resort to taking opioids in order to help them manage this pain but can have long-lasting side effects. Is it possible that there are other solutions?
The Problems With Opioids
When opioids are used in an oklahoma pain management plan, they work to bind receptors in the brain that block the sensation of pain. When used correctly and correctly, they are very efficient at getting the job done. However, there is a moderate risk that people can develop an opioid use disorder, which is not an easy condition to recover from. So are there any reasonable alternatives to help minimize this risk?
Reframing The Conversation About Pain Management
Narcotics are no longer seen as the universal solution to all pain management; the one-size-fits-all approach is no longer a consideration. Medical practitioners are looking to other means of helping people manage their pain, such as therapy, nonpharmacological medications, and other techniques to help that won’t create new challenges for the patient to deal with.
Studies have even shown that when these approaches are brought to those still taking opioid medications, they have an overall improvement in reduced pain, as well as social, mental, and physical health.
Getting Massage Therapists Involved
As massage therapy is starting to build a stronger presence on the pain management stage, the opportunities for massage therapists will start to grow. However, those currently in the field will have to rethink certain areas of their work to make their roles more effective.
One of the biggest areas is effective marketing. They are lax in creating a network of licensed professionals who can provide the support their clients need in order to receive the full spectrum of pain management. And that means reaching out to surgeons, PCPs, other physical therapists, and any other professionals involved in pain management.
Increase Massages Therapists’ Knowledge
One of the key ways to get massage therapists involved in the pain management conversation is to foster a deeper understanding of anatomy. Although having an LMT certificate is important, there is no analysis of the anatomical structure of the muscles and how they contribute to the complicated conditions that result in pain.
This could be achieved through transdisciplinary education, where students are learning complementary disciplines side by side. So massage therapists and physical therapists could learn anatomy in the side classroom as medical students.
Final Words
If you feel as if your chronic pain is no longer of being effectively treated with medication, then consider speaking to your doctor to see if adding a massage therapist to your regimen can help. You should be working together to find solutions for your conditions, and that could entail looking outside the box for alternative solutions that might help.
Carla specializes in writing about post-surgery recovery, pain management, and practical health tips. With a compassionate approach, Carla shares actionable strategies to ease discomfort, promote healing, and empower readers with knowledge to make recovery smoother and less stressful.