Veterans Disability Attorney James Fausone Applauds Army’s Approach to Pain Management

Northville, MI (Law Firm Newswire) November 12, 2013 – During the last dozen years in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army and Marine Corps have been studying the most common type of injury experienced by service members — musculoskeletal injuries.

Stress and strain from carrying a heavy pack, dismounting with that gear and combat wounds have all caused chronic pain issues. The Army has been treating chronic pain in soldiers for a number of years, and is now on the hunt to treat chronic pain with fewer painkillers as part of a comprehensive pain management system.

“Chronic pain is an ongoing issue with many returning troop members,” noted veterans disability attorney James Fausone. “It is often called a ‘silent’ disease. Not everyone can tell that someone is in chronic pain, though chronic pain can be a life-altering disability, one which significantly affects someone’s quality of life.”

While recent data is still being double-checked for veracity, it appears from reports that the wide use of opiate medications, as well as the length of time it was prescribed for chronic pain, has dropped. A pain management task force was launched in 2009 to oversee a wide-ranging series of recommendations and comprehensive approaches for the Army Medical Command. The focus was to map out a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to support injured troops and allow them to experience a quality of life. More than 100 recommendations were made to standardize pain management and improve care, such as proactive intervention, and pain education for staff and patients, as well as developing pain care best practices. Many of those recommendations were adopted and incorporated into standard pain management care for service members.

The Army introduced yoga and massage into pain management treatment last year, as well as other “complementary therapies” which have proven pain management results and have been incorporated into many traditional western medicine approaches. Additionally, the Department of Veterans Affairs has become integrated into the pain management system to provide a continuity of care for the vet as they leave active duty.

Learn more at http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC 41700 West Six Mile Road, Suite 101 Northville, MI 48168 Toll Free Phone: 800.693.4800