Results of a recent study have suggested that non-traditional therapies are capable of significantly relieving pain among a range of hospitalized patients.
"Roughly 80 percent of patients report moderate to severe pain levels after surgery," said study author Gregory Plotnikoff, medical director of the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
"We struggle to provide effective pain control while trying to avoid the adverse effects of opiate medications, such as respiratory depression, nausea, constipation, dizziness and falls," he added.
In the study, the researchers evaluated more than 1,800 cardiovascular, surgical, oncology and orthopedics patients and had them score their pain on a verbal scale of zero to 10 both before and after treatment.
The treatments included natural therapy services, such as acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, healing touch, music therapy, aromatherapy and reflexology. The research team found the therapies effectively reduced pain levels by more than 50 percent across numerous patient groups.
Moreover, the study’s authors concluded that non-traditional pain therapy options can be clinically implemented under the operational and financial constraints of a hospital setting. 