Do you know what the leading cause of disability is in the United States? You might say heart disease or cancer, but no actually it is musculoskeletal disorders aka people are in PAIN!
Hi, my name is Floyd Meyer and today we are going to be talking about something extremely important. And that is musculoskeletal disorders.
The National Institute of Health puts musculoskeletal disorders including low-back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis as the leading cause of disability in anyone 15 to 80 years old!
It is not only damaging to the individual with this disorder but it affects all of us because it is stopping our citizens from realizing their full potential and decreasing the positive impacts that they have on the world around them.
What this means is that people are in pain for a number of different reasons and that this is causing them to lose years off of their life and lose life off their years. They are unable to do the things that bring them joy whether that be going hiking, playing with their children and grandchildren, golf, or any other activity.
You may think that these disorders only occur when there is a major trauma like a bad car accident or in people who played many years of contact sports, but many of them occur just by regular everyday living combined with incorrect biomechanics. Things like osteoarthritis, chronic back pain, chronic neck pain all can and do occur in people who have no history of trauma.
What this problem has eventually lead to due to our broken healthcare system is the opioid epidemic. We have mistreated these individuals suffering from these conditions with medications like OxyContin, Percocet, and morphine even though these medications were NEVER PROVEN to be helpful for chronic musculoskeletal disorders. I’ll be talking more about this in a future video so stay tuned.
So now that you understand that having things like chronic neck and back pain can affect more than just yourself it can deprive those around you from experiencing your unique gifts. But what can you do about it?
In the next video, I will be outlining traditional medical treatment options and then I will tell you about what I personally believe is most effective and that is an integrative approach to musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain.
I hope you have found this helpful.
Do you know anyone that has been affected by chronic pain and the opioid crisis?? Share your story in the comments below.
Again this is Floyd Meyer signing off.
Catalyst Impacts 