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Oh My Aching Back!
Last June, we wrote a newsletter about adapting a healthier lifestyle - including regular exercise - to cut down on the need for medications .  Besides reducing medications for medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease, the need for pain medications can also often be reduced through appropriate physical activity.  Unlike traditional pain medications that only alleviate the symptoms, exercise (by building muscle and increasing flexibility), can actually make pain go away over time.
New Evidence

We are only just today learning the dangers of over-reliance on opioid pain medications (you can read more on our blog ), but suffice it to say, that anything we can do to help reduce the need for these medications, we should be doing.  
In researching this topic, people have raised the concern that perhaps we should not be concerned about whether an elderly person becomes addicted to pain medication.   However, as family and caretakers, we have a responsibility to make sure that seniors are aware of both the dangers and the alternatives that do exist.    
The Danger to Seniors

Pain medications in the opioid family work by blocking the sensation of pain.  Unfortunately, their effectiveness at doing their job decreases with usage (commonly called tolerance), so to continue to get the same benefits of pain relief over time, the dosage must be continuously increased.  This is where the danger comes in for seniors who choose to treat with opioid medications.  
In the past 20 years, the rate of opioid-related hospitalization due to overuse among seniors has quintupled. 
Additionally, according  to the National Safety Council, "Elderly adults taking Opioid painkillers have 4 times as many bone fractures, are 68% more likely to be hospitalized and are 87% more likely to die as those taking over-the-counter pain medication." 
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An Alternative Choice

Many of our class participants report greatly reduced pain after just a few weeks of participating in our Live 2 B Healthy® classes.  Why?  We are re-building muscles and working on flexibility, both of which naturally alleviate much of what we consider the aches and pains of old age.  Of course, if residents are experiencing long term pain or pain due to an injury, we would always suggest seeking medical advice.  However, if offered prescription pain medications in the Opioid family, we need to make sure they are aware of the dangers and alternatives to these drugs.  We can encourage them to ask their specialist if he or she thinks that regular exercise might help, prior to filling the prescription.