Even in a non-military population, chronic back pain is overwhelmingly the number one cause of disability and quality of life reduction worldwide.
In this episode, Dr. Gabriel Pagani, a Mayo Clinic-trained, double-board-certified interventional and surgical pain management neurologist, discusses the prevalence and significance of chronic low back pain within the military. Gabriel discusses the link between military service and chronic back pain, attributing it to multifidus muscle dysfunction and its impact on spine stability. He underscores the challenges faced by active-duty personnel and veterans, emphasizing the role of ReActiv8, a minimally invasive procedure addressing multifidus dysfunction, in improving both physical and mental well-being. Despite its proven benefits, the slow adoption of ReActiv8 in the military community prompts Dr. Pagani to call on healthcare providers to explore this innovative treatment.
Tune in and learn about the revolutionary ReActiv8 technology, a potential game-changer in restoring spinal function and improving the quality of life for those suffering from chronic low back pain!
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[00:00:00] Hey everybody, welcome back to the Outcomes Rocket and I'm super excited to be doing this
[00:00:08] interview today with the outstanding Dr. Gabrielle Pagani.
[00:00:13] He's a Mayo Clinic-trained, double board certified interventional and surgical pain management
[00:00:18] neurologist with a mastery of axial and adoption of the reactivate. Yeah, I appreciate that. It's a great opportunity. So let's dive in. Can you describe the prevalence of chronic low back pain among military personnel and how significant the issue is?
[00:01:40] I mean, significance cannot be overstated.
[00:01:43] Even in a non-military population,
[00:01:45] chronic back pain is overwhelmingly a number one cause So if you have had this multifidus knocked offline because of an injury, then your spine doesn't really know where it is. And you know, the symphony, if you will, of muscle contraction that is meant to take place to protect our spine is not being conducted appropriately. And so activities can, that shouldn't cause pain, cause pain, like sitting without back support,
[00:03:02] bending board to pick something off the floor, et cetera,
[00:03:04] because that spine stabilizer is not engaged and locked in. to stay in longer, sacrificing everything and just having a great deal of suffering as a result. And then, of course, once you leave the military and you become a veteran proper, you still can have major quality of life issues. These people have worsening mental health, because they cannot function the way they want to. Can't do the job that they identify with,
[00:04:20] can't perform as a spouse, as a parent, as were phrased up for me. Yeah, no. So I think you really covered it because it was really about how do we target it. And I think you've kind of a reiteration on your end is that it hasn't been, right? Because it's been sort of a secondary thing. And so a great call out and then the point you made around the codes,
[00:05:43] certainly on the payer side of the equation, if you guys are listening to this, something to think undergone a lifetime alternative treatments really with not a great track record of success. And they can range from less invasive, you know, physical therapy or nerve blocks or set rate of frequency blation to frankly more invasive types of things like a surge or like a big time decompressive spine surgery or even, you know, opioid medications with all its attendant
[00:07:01] risks and consequences of that. And so it is to the patient question, but it is cost savings for the payer in general. Obviously, the cost savings are going to be realized for minimum one, two years, right? Because there's a cost to play out with surgery. But certainly over time, I don't think it's going to take very long to hit net even on this far as what you would have spent not doing it.
[00:08:20] Totally. Yeah. And I've had a chance. Thank you for that, Dr. Puggani. I've had a chance
[00:08:24] to speak with patients on this series and actually adopt something new, you know, that's always what I say. I was like, what else are you going to do? It would be different if there was a bunch of competing, very established, very effective therapies out there, but there really isn't. You know, this is, it has a niche to its own. So yeah, my patients have done quite well.
[00:09:40] And harkening back to, you mentioned mental health, you know, one of my earliest implants is
[00:09:45] one of the ones doing the best. And again, all these things, everybody benefits really the whole, not just the individual, but the whole system or whole society. Everybody benefits and restore somebody with reactivate like that. Yeah, that's huge. Thanks for sharing that.
[00:11:00] Certainly a big opportunity in the way we treat this.
[00:11:04] And like you said, Dr. Pagani, when you're out of treats patients with chronic axial low back pain and probably any physician is going to raise their hand, it might not be what they primarily treat, but that's going to be a co-morbidity among patients they see just because nearly everyone, you know, has. So call the actions, basically keeping an open mind, always, no matter what it is, technology-wise,
[00:12:21] always do your due diligence to teach yourself about the underlying research, because sometimes
[00:12:26] new technologies come out and they don't have any research at all. And there's a disservice being done by not knowing about it and not offering it. So the slower the pace of adoption, you know, the more people continue to suffer unnecessarily. So I guess I would give him a call to action. That's great, Dr. Baghani, and thank you for being a, an innovator in the space and seeing the possibility of a technology like this and the way that it improves lives
[00:13:42] of really the people in our country.
[00:13:43] So really appreciate you.
[00:13:45] Thank you for joining us for this session and looking forward
[00:13:48] to chatting with you again soon.