Pullen S - Authors planned this work to assess the effect of physical therapy (PT) on self-reported pain scores and pain medication usage in people living with HIV (PLHIV) enrolled in a multidisciplinary HIV clinic. Results suggested PT intervention was effective, cost-effective, non-pharmacological method to decrease chronic pain in PLHIV.

Methods

• In PLHIV enrolled in a multidisciplinary HIV clinic, authors determined the effect of PT on self-reported pain scores and pain medication usage.
• They collected data via reviews of patient medical records within a certain timeframe.
• They gathered data from patient charts for two points: initial PT encounter (Time 1) and PT discharge or visit ≤4 months after initial visit (Time 2).

Results

• During the study period, subjects receiving PT reported decreased pain (65.2%), elimination of pain (28.3%), no change in pain (15.2%), and increased pain (6.5%).
• There were three-quarters of the subjects who reported a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in pain score, and more than half that reported a decrease in pain score over the MCID.
• A trend of decreasing pain medication prescription and usage was observed among subjects during the study period.