‘No Pain, No Gain?’ Our Nation’s Veterans Beg to Differ.
Veterans To Be Part of Learning Program at Upcoming CME Conference
Soldier Vs. Pain: A Tug-of-War on Healing
Beneath the layer of emotional scarring veterans earn during a war tour of duty, lies another persistant reminder of freedom’s true cost. Chronic pain. Increasing chronic pain, to put it more accurately. Recent studies show this type of pain is a leading public health issue in both the VA (public) and Private sectors. The numbers appear to back-up the claim.
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, chronic pain (defined as pain lasting 12 or more weeks) is common among 20 million veterans across the country. And, more than 50 percent of vets being treated or cared for by our nation’s VA Hospitals are affected by the condition.
A study, documented in the Journal of Pain, sheds light on other equally as eye-opening statistics . For example, treatment costs running upwards of $635 billion in the US; and female veterans at higher risk of reporting chronic pain than men. The findings and numbers in the study, done between 2006 and 2016, only get worse.
Calling in Reinforcements: Veterans in Pain, VIP
On the front line of help for our veterans sits, among others, Veterans In Pain, VIP. Formed just three years, the 501(c)3 non-profit has already provided $3 million in services for ailing vets. Additionally, the group urges the passing of its Veterans In Pain V.I.P. Interventional Therapies for Veterans Act. The bill’s meat and potatos include:
- Allocating a Veterans In Pain, V.I.P. physician network as the community care provider of therapeutic interventional medical solutions for the VA system and its veterans suffering intractable and unresponsive pain levels.
- Amending the Right to Try Act to allow the government and VA system to acknowledge the definition of chronic pain as a centralized autoimmune disease of the central nervous system, with a propensity to become terminal through organ degeneration and suicide. A change in definition would allow greater accessibility to interventional solutions for those who have otherwise lost hope, according to Veterans in Pain, VIP
- Mandate a responsible multidisciplinary pain program in each VA facility
Allied Forces in Regenerative Medicine
The nonprofit has two allies — one in EmCyte Corporation and the other in Gulf Coast Biologics. In a recent partnership agreement, EmCyte will provide kits used by regenerative medicine doctors to harvest platelet-rich plasma, (PRP). In short, PRP is injected into the tissue around the pain. The PRP acts as a catalyst to trigger the body’s healing process. Results, so far, have been promising and have provided much relief for vets and others suffering chronic pain.
At the Bio-Illuminate III International CME Conferenece, on June 24th – 26th, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida, Gulf Coast Biologics will feature soldiers fromVeterans in Pain, VIP in live portions of the program. Physicians, who will earn 20 CME credits by attending this conference, will learn the proper ways of injecting PRP and more about the needs of veterans in this area. For any doctor who is in the business of pain management, this is a win-win. Veterans are a new pool of potential patients. In turn, our nations veterans find a new freedom in life — freedom from pain.
Bio-Illuminate III International CME Conference
June 24 – 26th | Fort Myers, FL
Get Earlybird Pricing While it’s Available!
