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Pain affects thousands of service members and family members every day. The Military Health System is committed to providing safe and effective pain management options for all of our patients
- About 50 million US adults have chronic pain, one of the most common reasons for adults to seek medical care.
- Chronic pain (i.e., back and knee pain) is one of the most common reasons service members seek care at military hospitals and clinics.
- You are not alone.
- There is hope for pain relief.
- Every person experiences and responds to pain differently.
- There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to treating pain.
- Your medical provider will work with you to find the treatments that work for you.
- A range of options are available to manage pain, including behavioral, physical, and pharmacological methods.
- Treating pain requires a holistic, gradual approach to find the right treatment plan for each individual is aimed at restoring persons to a higher level of function, and returning service members to full duty status.
- A comprehensive approach to pain management includes lifestyle components like sleep and diet, and clinically proven complementary and integrative health services like chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture, and massage therapy.
- DOD and VA use a Stepped Care Model of pain management to get patients the appropriate level of pain care throughout the continuum of acute and chronic pain. The Stepped Care Model:
- Utilizes evidence-based treatments for the management of acute and chronic pain.
- Promotes non-pharmacologic and non-opioid treatment.
- Seeks to prevent acute pain from becoming chronic
- Escalates and de-escalates care as appropriate based on clinical indicators.
- Is a collaboration between the patient, the primary care provider and pain specialists as needed.
- The MHS pain management approach emphasizes non-pharmacologic (drug) pain management therapies, when possible.
- Unintentional opioid overdoses can result in serious illness or death.
- For patients requiring opioid therapy, the MHS employs risk mitigation strategies to minimize complications.
- Your provider will work with you to develop a collaborative plan to taper you off opioids as soon as it is appropriate.
- Naloxone is an opioid overdose antidote or rescue drug. Many patients who are prescribed opioids might also be prescribed Naloxone. You can request naloxone from a pharmacist or provider if you believe that you or someone in your home is at risk of an accidental opioid overdose.
- Accidental overdoses are not uncommon and Naloxone is proven to save lives.
- If you’ve been taking opioid pain medication for more than a few weeks, never stop taking them without consulting with your medical provider. Your provider will help you stop taking these medications safely and comfortably.
- Once you’ve stopped taking your prescribed opioids, never take any “left-over” pain medication at any time in the future.
- This can result in an accidental overdose and even death. Talk to your provider if you feel you need prescription pain medication again.
- Visit the Health.mil drug take back page to learn how to properly dispose of unused or expired medications.
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Last Updated: August 04, 2023