Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

Getting creative: Reducing opioid use for returning warriors

Image of Airmen of the 174th Attack Wing participate in a weekly yoga class. Classes are intended to present an alternative way for 174th members to build both mental and physical strength. Yoga is also a way to alleviate chronic pain in the body. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Duane Morgan). Airmen of the 174th Attack Wing participate in a weekly yoga class. Classes are intended to present an alternative way for 174th members to build both mental and physical strength. Yoga is also a way to alleviate chronic pain in the body. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Duane Morgan)

When service members return from tour of duty with debilitating battlefield injuries, opioid prescriptions are common in their recovery process. Opioids are effective in reducing pain in patients but can be highly addictive as a pain treatment option. As a result, the Defense Health Agency is exploring alternate pain management techniques to decrease the number of opioid prescriptions in military hospitals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2017 that drug overdose deaths involving opioids skyrocketed from roughly 8,000 in 1999 to over 46,000 in 2017. Of these numbers, deaths involving prescribed opioids jumped from around 3,000 to almost 17,000. DHA’s response has been an integrated approach to health that combines prescriptions with nonpharmacological pain treatments. DHA published a procedural instruction in 2018 that promotes physical and behavioral treatment techniques like acupuncture, massage, and music therapy as alternativess to address acute pain and prevent it from becoming chronic. Opioids would then be prescribed only when indicated.

Dr. Chester Buckenmaier, a professor at the Uniformed Services University and a licensed acupuncturist, agrees that these other pain treatment techniques are key to the future of pain management. While Buckenmaier is an anesthesiologist by trade, he teaches students at USU to take alternate treatments into consideration as they study to be the health care providers of tomorrow.

“The Defense Health Agency and USU are aggressively educating the next generation to look at these other techniques as first line treatments for pain,” Buckenmaier said. “We’re teaching them today that this is medicine.”

Outside the classroom, practitioners like Dr. Bhagwan Bahroo from the Psychiatry Continuity Service program at Walter Reed use yoga to treat pain in military hospitals.

“A good yoga session not only improves muscle tone, adds strength, and improves flexibility of the joints, but also helps bring peace of mind, reduces anxiety, and improves mood,” Bahroo explained. He added this method relieves pain intensity and increases daily function, two factors essential to successful pain management.

Acupuncture and yoga are only a few examples of nonmedication pain management treatments. Health care providers across the military are also exploring other approaches such as meditation and nutrition to combat pain while maintaining healthy, daily function. Battlefield acupuncture, or auriculotherapy, is already available at certain military hospitals, and TRICARE is evaluating the clinical effectiveness of traditional acupuncture, which could become a covered service in the future. With the implementation of the updated Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale, DHA will have a way to measure these techniques and their effects on pain.

“This is a cultural change that we’re bringing not only to our patients, but also to ourselves as clinicians,” Buckenmaier said.

Service members and civilians dealing with both acute and chronic pain are encouraged to explore these other techniques with their health care providers when considering an opioid prescription. For more information on how to manage pain, visit the Military Health System’s Pain Management page.

Read Mr. Thomas McCaffery's memo officially recognizing November as Warrior Care Month.  

You also may be interested in...

In the Army Recovery Care Program, You Have One Job

Article Around MHS
4/27/2023
U.S. Army Cpt. Veronica, Jones shoots the ball during the U.S. Army Adaptive Sports Camp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on April 1. Over 70 wounded, ill and injured soldiers are training in a series of athletic events including archery, cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, powerlifting, track, field, rowing, and wheelchair basketball. This year, the Warrior Games Challenge takes place in June 2023 at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California. (Photo by U.S. Army Pvt. Theron Smith)

In the Army Recovery Care Program, soldiers have one job…to get better. The adaptive sports camp celebrates wounded, ill, and injured soldiers' ability to recover and overcome. The U.S. Army holds qualifying trials for active duty, wounded, ill, or injured soldiers to assess and select athletes for competition in the Warrior Games Challenge.

Driving After Traumatic Brain Injury at Womack Army Medical Center

Article Around MHS
3/8/2023
The Womack Army Medical Center uses a rehabilitation vehicle that builds confidence for a service member, diligently working to regain independence in their life after a traumatic brain injury. (Photo by Sameria Zavala, Womack Army Medical Center)

Traumatic brain injuries can end military careers and create great strains on military families. That's why the occupational therapists at Womack Army Medical Center have created a therapy that most of us take for granted to get injured soldiers back on the road to recovery.

How One Officer is Chasing Her Dreams

Article Around MHS
2/21/2023
U.S. Navy Lt. Tia Blythe

Her civilian physical therapy job wasn't enough. That's when Tia Laine Blythe decided to take her specialized skills to the military. Follow along with now U.S. Navy Lt. Tia Laine Blythe's military career path that has led to numerous awards, distinctions, and a whole new level of professional satisfaction.

There's No Excuse to Not Be Living Your Full Potential

Article Around MHS
1/17/2023
Military personnel healing in hospital bed

Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Armando Mejia was severely injured due to an explosion and firefight in Mosul, Iraq, in 2004. Staying in a medical hold while recovering, Mejia was eventually one of the first to experience the Army Recovery Care Program when it was stood up as Warrior Care and Transition.

Injured Fort Bliss K-9 Handler Makes Inspiring Return to Duty

Article Around MHS
1/10/2023
Military personnel with K9

A military working dog handler assigned to the 93rd Military Police battalion survives a horrific motorcycle crash with a speeding pickup driver, but his prognosis was grim. Find out how dedication, motivation, and his sweet connection with a K-9 got U.S. Army Spc. Cade Brown back on the road to recovery.

Striking Out With Adaptive Reconditioning

Article Around MHS
12/15/2022
Military personnel at bowling alley

Debilitating injuries can end livelihoods - including Military careers. Meet the Soldiers who find healing - physical and emotional - by enjoying one of America's favorite pastimes.

As a Military Family, We Do What We Do with Faith, Hope, Love, and Prayers

Article Around MHS
12/8/2022
Capt. Luis Avilla with his family.

The average military family could relocate ten times or more. There are changes in schools, jobs, and homes. But that's the easy part. See how one military family, like so many others, held it together when the going got very tough.

It’s all About Adapting…When it Comes to Disability

Article Around MHS
10/19/2022
Meagan Gorsuch participates in downhill skiing

Meagan Gorsuch, a Kirtland U.S. Air Force Base military spouse, knows all about adapting to her disabilities. She has been deafblind since birth. See how she has adapted to a world that can still be a challenge for the disabled.

Return to Duty: An SRU Soldier's Story of Recovery and Resiliency

Article Around MHS
9/12/2022
Fort Stewart Soldier Recovery Unit insignia

Capt. Viola Howard, an Iron Guardian at the Fort Stewart Soldier Recovery Unit, injured herself during her tour of duty in Germany and was transferred to Fort Stewart She set her mind to recover, rehabilitate, rebuild and ultimately return to active duty.

Get the Kinks out with NHB's Chiropractor

Article Around MHS
7/21/2022
Military medical personnel in exam room

An appointment with Naval Hospital Bremerton’s chiropractor is just a referral away for active duty service members.

We Are NMCCL: Case Management Department

Article Around MHS
6/8/2022
Military personnel at computer

The Navy Case Management program is available to support patients with complex or multiple medical conditions and those requiring intense and extensive support.

378th Medical Partnerships Sustain Life and Mission

Article Around MHS
6/1/2022
Military medical personnel perform mock emergency care

Air Force medical contingency response team members, with the 378th Expeditionary Medical Squadron, perform mock emergency medical care for a simulated casualty at Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Multiservice medical providers, medics take on dive injuries, treatments

Article Around MHS
5/31/2022
Military personnel in pool for training

A group of medical providers and medics recently spent two weeks at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Dive Center here learning how to treat patients who may have suffered a dive injury.

JBLM Soldiers Start Preparing for Warrior Games With Hard Training

Article Around MHS
4/19/2022
Military personnel training for Army Trials and DoD Warrior Games

The DoD Warrior Games 2022 may be months away, but the Soldiers of Task Force Phoenix at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) in Tacoma, Washington already are deep into an intense training regimen in the hopes of securing some shiny hardware this August in Texas.

“Connect to Protect” campaign promotes togetherness in preventing suicides

Article Around MHS
9/27/2021
September is Suicide Prevention Month

Suicide is a public health issue that affects communities across the country, and Suicide Prevention Month offers an opportunity to further people’s understanding of this complex issue.

Page 1 of 1 , showing items 1 - 15
Refine your search
Last Updated: September 02, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery