Is your doctor up to date on the latest research?

Did you know that current medical treatments and recommendations are averaging 17 YEARS behind the latest research? One particular study revealed that it took 6 years of reviewing evidence supporting the use of thrombolytic (clot busting) drugs to result in a standard recommendation in treating heart attacks, whereas the previously standard recommendation using lidocaine was used for 25 years, with no evidence of effectiveness. Essentially, it took 6 years of people reviewing research to say yes this works better than this other treatment we’ve used for 25 years that has no clinical research or proven effectiveness behind it. You can read the full study here.

Same goes for updating the curriculum in medical schools. One survey showed out of 147 medical schools, 15.7% of them has had no curriculum change in the last 3 years, and 34.7% planned to change the curriculum, but had no timeframe in which it would be implemented.

Scary thought.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand there is a lengthy process in understanding and researching new and different ways to treat conditions, and I do not believe in just jumping straight into conducting mass changes. My issue with having standard recommendations is that these recommendations may have become antiquated. Yet, they are still the first recommendation given. Most doctors use the same standard treatments on every patient with the same diagnosis. I have seen it time and time again when a client comes in with a bulging disc or torn rotator cuff or arthritis. They are typically given the following recommendations: pain meds/anti-inflammatories/muscle relaxers, followed by 6 weeks of physical therapy, followed by a corticosteroid injection, and if all else fails, surgery. The worst part of all this, is those protocols have been determined to be the best course of action by insurance companies, not the doctor. But that’s a discussion for another time.

So what is my point of all this? My point is most current treatments for physical conditions have become too standardized, and current research is being ignored on other effective ways to treat these conditions. Patients are getting put on a “medical merry-go-round” where they are passed from provider to provider with no one stopping to ask if there’s a better way.

At Massage Harrisburg, we pride ourselves in CONSTANTLY learning new ways to help our clients. We are curious about the human body, how it works, and work to use the human body’s innate intelligence for healing to our advantage, rather than fight against it. We perform detailed intakes, ask questions, and work to understand what is causing the issue and how to best address the symptoms. We cannot reverse the damage once it’s already there, but with thoughtful consideration, curiosity about how it started, and a passion for helping people, we can help people gain back their quality of life.