Why does a multidisciplinary approach work better

In 2014 Sidell & Cousins stated that  “ People experiencing pain often report mood disturbances, including irritability, helplessness and depression. More complex cognitive responses can also develop, such as loss of belief in the ability to perform tasks and fear avoidance. These in turn can result in loss of employment, breakdown of family relationship, and loss of community status.”   Pain is a burden on the sick individual, his family and more generally speaking on the society. The costs related to pain treatments are enormous (In the USA, more than the costs for cancer and heart diseases treatments combined). Therefore an efficient strategy for treating all aspects of  pain which help the patients regain their life and functional capacity is critical. It is well-known that a progressive active rehabilitation program is much more effective in restoring functional capacity, return to work and reducing pain compared with passive forms of therapy. There is also evidence that a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach is more efficient than non-multidisciplinary approaches for rehabilitation. We at AMS try to build an ecosystem around all of this knowledge acquired in decades of research. We try to be a “one stop shop” for our patients, therefore we have a orthopedic & sports medicine physicians, rehabilitation and physical therapist, occupational therapists & kinesiologists.  Our therapists participates regularly in continuing education programs and take at least double the amount of continuing education that is required by the professional orders. On the one hand  we are trying to have unity among our treating staff – therefore we are require all of our therapists to be qualified in active treatment approaches such as The Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (the “McKenzie” Method ) and The Mulligan Concept. On the other hand we try to keep an open mind for other approaches by having Osteopaths and acupuncturists on board to assist us when found appropriate. One huge component in our Multidisciplinary approach is the occupational therapy department – while the previous therapies mentioned deal more with pain reduction, strength training and improvement in ranges of motion, The occupational therapy department emphasis is functional recovery – return to work and social life. When needed, a psychological intervention can take place with our staff psychologist that specializes in treating chronic pain, cases of domestic violence (IVAC) ect. When the case cannot be resolved by the means described so far, we can provide a quick access to orthopedic surgeons and physiatrists in order to decrease waiting times for patients in need. We constantly and consistently try to get better in helping and answering our patients’ need, so you can be sure that your patients are in good hands.

References and additional reading

1. Guzmán, Jaime, et al. “Multidisciplinary rehabilitation for chronic low back pain: systematic review.” Bmj 322.7301 (2001): 1511-1516.
2. Kankaanpää, Markku, et al. “The efficacy of active rehabilitation in chronic low back pain: effect on pain intensity, self-experienced disability, and lumbar fatigability.” Spine24.10 (1999): 1034-1042.
3. Stathopoulos, Nikolaos, Zacharias Dimitriadis, and George A. Koumantakis. “Effectiveness of Mulligan’s Mobilization with Movement techniques on pain and disability of peripheral joints: A systematic review with meta-analysis between 2008–2017.” Physiotherapy (2018).
4. Siddall, Philip J., and Michael J. Cousins. “Persistent pain as a disease entity: implications for clinical management.” Anesthesia & Analgesia 99.2 (2004): 510-520.
5. Scascighini, L., et al. “Multidisciplinary treatment for chronic pain: a systematic review of interventions and outcomes.” Rheumatology 47.5 (2008): 670-678.
6. HALLIDAY, MARK, et al. “Treatment Effect Sizes of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy for Pain and Disability in Patients With Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.” journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical 49.4 (2019).
7. Klaber Moffett, J., et al. “Randomized trial of two physiotherapy interventions for primary care neck and back pain patients:‘McKenzie’ vs brief physiotherapy pain management.” Rheumatology 45.12 (2006): 1514-1521.