Former Health Official: Non-Narcotic Pain Treatment Is the Way to Go

Friday, January 26, 2018 | 0

A former director of the Rhode Island Department of Health spoke to the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council this week about the role non-narcotic pain treatment centers play in the fight to quash the opioid epidemic, the news site Uprise RI reported.

Michael Fine

Michael Fine told attendees of Wednesday’s WCAC meeting that non-narcotic pain treatment centers such as the Arrigan Rehabilitation Center push pain-management regimens that teach patients how to manage their discomfort through physical activity, goal-setting, reframing maladaptive beliefs about pain, relaxation, mindfulness and other methods that engage the mind and body.

These programs work on reducing patients’ levels of “suffering” and their ability to live with pain, as the Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Division puts it on its website.

Fine said programs such as those offered at the Arrigan Center can lead the charge as Rhode Island institutions look into pain-treatment options that won’t put patients at risk of addiction.

“It’s clear that the Arrigan Center can be the model and leader for the ethical treatment of chronic pain for all Rhode Islanders,” Fine said, according to Uprise RI.