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Former Drug Czar Touts Different Approach to Pain Management


A local pain clinic is calling attention to what it says is a treatment gap in pain management. Prospira Pain Care says Florida's crack down on pill mills has left some doctors reluctant to treat chronic pain. But a former U-S Drug Czar says pain can be managed without the heavy use of medication.

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[Former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey (right) talks to Alexander Jungreis at an Orlando event.]

Retired U-S General and former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey knows something about pain- having been wounded in combat three times. He’s now on the board of directors for Propira Pain Care, because he says he was bowled over by what he calls functional restoration programs for pain management.

“Where you get someone who had been in bed for two years, had no life, and then in a matter of a few months later, they’re off opiates, they’re back to work, they’re back taking care of their children ect, so the results can be simply astonishing,” he says.

McCaffrey is helping to push a multi-disciplinary approach to pain management. This approach relies less on medication and surgery, and focuses on helping a person learn to live with chronic pain through exercise, nutrition and counseling, among other things. Prospira says some of its patients see dramatic improvement in a matter of weeks, but for others it can take months. 

 

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