BY LYNDZIE JACKSON, PT, DPT One of the most troubling aspects of this decade has been the worsening state of the opioid epidemic in the United States. Therefore, treating opioid addiction is a major concern. Overdose deaths are increasing and leaving families reeling from both a pandemic and an opioid epidemic. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw a record number of people dying of overdose—nearly 92,000—according to the National Center for Health Statistics. At the time that was a record, with 21,000 more deaths than any other year. Sadly, 2021 brought new record-breaking numbers from the NCHS. Nearly 108,000 died from drug-related overdoses last year, an increase of 15%.
The increase in deaths from opioids and other drugs is a stark warning for addiction professionals that they must do more. Everyone in addiction treatment must find ways to better treat the causes of opioid addiction. As a physical therapist for an intensive outpatient program treating addiction, general mental health issues, as well as chronic pain, I am continually exposed to people seeking treatment for opioid addiction and I am constantly thinking about physical therapy’s role in this epidemic. Physical therapy as a tool for treating opioid addiction is sadly underutilized, despite the fact that it can be essential to the recovery of many people dealing with opioid addiction and should be used more often.
