Interest in non-addictive and non-invasive options for managing chronic and acute pain has recently grown among healthcare professionals and patients alike. This has occurred in part as a result of the undesirable effects of opioid use; a phenomenon that continues to make headlines. There are alternative methods for managing pain, however, and manufacturers of several non-invasive, non-pharmacological technologies have products on the market that physical therapists can use to help patients find relief. Rehab Management gathered a select panel of these manufacturers to get the details about how the latest product refinements can help therapists effectively treat pain symptoms in the clinic and at home.
ActiveWrap Inc
Hot and cold therapy
www.activewrap.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
ActiveWrap: We have redesigned and improved our hip wrap sizing for a streamlined fit at any size. This includes extender straps for larger patients. We have also incorporated our long-duration hybrid ice pack into this product line as well for the postop setting. This pack is capable of providing more than 4 hours of cold therapy without freezing solid. We have added an all-plush version of our knee wrap as well for further improved sizing.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
ActiveWrap: Conditions in need of heat/ice therapy for pain and inflammation reduction. From inpatient postsurgical to outpatient rehab. We have a solution for each population.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
ActiveWrap: Therapists are very creative and savvy. ActiveWrap systems allow PTs to customize to every patient’s body type and need. The degree of cold can be tempered for every demographic young and old. Some patients can handle more cold than others, and we allow the therapist to set up the patient based on their exact needs with ease. By providing a high-quality affordable option for cold therapy, without the fancy coolers and rental machines, PTs can provide their patient with a modality to use at home to enhance their home exercise regime.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
ActiveWrap: No, but ActiveWrap is designed to be an easy-to-use, affordable modality that can be used for years.
Flexall by Ari-Med Pharmaceuticals
Topicals
www.ari-med.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Ari-Med Pharmaceuticals: Being a long-established brand, we continue to educate the market about the versatility of the Flexall line of products.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Ari-Med Pharmaceuticals: The products are appropriate for two patient populations—active, sports-oriented, and less active, dealing with chronic pain.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Ari-Med Pharmaceuticals: Flexall mixed with ultrasound gel makes for an enhanced therapeutic ultrasound treatment. A 25% Flexall to 75% ultrasound gel mixture doesn’t interfere with the ultrasound while delivering a cooling sensation to the patient.
Battle Creek Equipment
Heat and cold packs
www.battlecreekequipment.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Battle Creek Equipment: Battle Creek has been focused on Pain Management Kits over the last year. These are primarily for use by the patient/client at home in-between therapy sessions. The kits are comprised of a combination of moist heat wraps and cold therapy wraps. They come in a variety of joint-specific, general use, and headache relief versions. The idea is to have the client continue hot, cold, or contrast therapy to manage their pain at home. A number of clinics and therapists are offering these to their clients to accelerate their rehab/recovery.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Battle Creek Equipment: Our focus has been on pain management since 1931. But the areas where we see consistent demand for our products are with clients that find hot or cold therapy to work well with managing their pain. Typically, this means chronic muscle or joint pain such as arthritis, back and neck pain, etc.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Battle Creek Equipment: Most therapists use our Thermophore brand for deep moist heat therapy and Ice It! brand products for cold therapy. They can get the most out of the Thermophore moist heat packs by making sure that there is ample moisture. This can be accomplished by either having extra covers to swap out as needed or alternatively by using our Moist-Sure cover, which allows a damp cloth to be added inside the cover to maximize the moisture near the heat source. This maximizes the penetrating moist heat that the Thermophore pack delivers. For Ice It! items it is mostly about the fit. We have joint-specific wraps and general-use wraps. Making sure that the cold connects with the client will rapidly slow the circulation, minimizing inflammation and numbing the pain.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
Battle Creek Equipment: Some of our moist heat pads are covered under E0215. This includes certain models of the Thermophore and Custom-Touch 2 products. Cold therapy items such as our Ice It! and Stay-Put wraps are often billed under A9273 for hot/cold wraps.
Dynatronics
Solaris Plus, ThermoStim Probe, TreoActive Tilt table
www.dynatronics.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Dynatronics: Bridging the gap between bedrest to mobility is a prime concern as new medical advances conquer what were once life-ending illnesses and injuries. The TreoActive Tilt table was developed to provide a platform for early mobilization that can address a patient’s challenges as their muscle control moves from low-functioning to weight bearing and ambulation. The Treo Active Tilt Table also was engineered to provide the additional benefit of being able to function as a simple treatment table when needed.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Dynatronics: Dynatronics is a company that has long been known for its durable and innovative product offerings designed specifically for the physical therapy market. One example of this is the ThermoStim Probe, an optional accessory to the Solaris Plus. The ThermoStim Probe is a soft-tissue mobilization tool that is designed to allow a practitioner to deliver heat or cold therapy in combination with electrical stimulation—all at the same time—significantly reducing the time typically required to administer three separate treatments. The ThermoStim Probe is engineered to operate in conjunction with any of six separate stim modalities, including premod, interferential, biphasic, Russian, microcurrent, and high volt. It is designed to have the ability to reach target temperature in less than one minute.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Dynatronics: Due to the extensive number of products offered by Dynatronics, it would be difficult to mention user tips for all of them in this limited space. However, the company does have several aids that it provides clinicians with the purchase of Dynatronics products, including Quick Start Guides, detailed treatment manuals, and online videos that demonstrate treatment techniques. If clinicians have specific questions about a Dynatronics product they can always feel free to contact the corporate office or direct the question to a company sales representative.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
Dynatronics: Yes, billing codes are available; however, the diversity of the Dynatronics product line prohibits listing all of the codes in this publication. Every physical therapist is aware, of course, that as with any insurance claim, individual patients’ contract benefits in effect at the time of service actually determine coverage.
LiteCure LLC
Therapy lasers
www.litecure.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
LiteCure LLC: Recently LightForce launched the i-series of therapy lasers. These new lasers feature influence technology, which enables you to harness software and hardware advancements to deliver the most consistent outcomes. Influence technology allows therapists to create custom treatments for every patient, which provides extremely consistent clinical results. Contact treatment capabilities take the therapist’s treatment protocols to the next level by enabling them to deliver soothing treatments that both feel good and maximize treatment outcomes.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
LiteCure LLC: Laser therapy can be utilized on a wide variety of clinical conditions and patient populations. Where there is pain or inflammation, laser therapy is a viable treatment option.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
LiteCure LLC: To achieve the most consistent results, we recommend that therapists understand the basics of administering appropriate doses of laser energy to target tissue. Therapists may leverage pre-set protocols, manual operation mode, or our Perfect Protocol software technologies to accurately calculate condition-specific doses to maximize outcomes. We also recommend that therapists leverage the on-contact massage ball treatment applicator when appropriate to get the most out of their treatment sessions.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
LiteCure LLC: There are two. The first is 97039, unlisted modality (specify type and time if constant attendance). The second is S8948 (LLLT), application of a modality (requiring constant provider attendance) to one or more areas; low-level laser; each 15 minutes.
Pivotal Health Solutions
Cold lasers, Soft tissue tools, Vibration therapy
www.pivotalhealthsolutions.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Pivotal Health Solutions: Pivotal Health Solution’s Apollo Laser efficiently harnesses advance Class IV laser technology. Now offering a 5,000Mw probe, the medical-grade Class 4 laser aims to be the perfect marriage of power and wavelength for pain management treatments.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Pivotal Health Solutions: The Apollo Laser and its probes can work well in any setting. The Apollo is offered in different configurations, with the Apollo Desktop Laser Unit being best in any office or clinic, where two clinicians can treat separate patients simultaneously. For moving room to room or in the field, the Apollo Portable Laser unit is ideal. The low-level laser technology of the Apollo safely penetrates
1 to 2 inches below the skin to stimulate regeneration of damaged cells and tissues, bringing more rapid healing and reducing pain.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Pivotal Health Solutions: When you purchase an Apollo Laser System, you will receive 90 days of free support from Dr Curtis Turchin, who has more than 30 years of laser therapy experience to treat acute and chronic pain. Each laser system also has a built-in safety and fault detection software and a built-in power test to assess probe output.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
Pivotal Health Solutions: 97039, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: This is the primary code recommended for billing for low-level laser therapy. Specify a 10- or 15-minute treatment, and provide the explanatory notation of “FDA cleared laser therapy.” 97139, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: This is also a good code to use; however, note that this code specifies a “procedure,” whereas 97039 specifies a “modality,” which is a better descriptor. When using this code, make sure to provide the explanatory notation of “FDA cleared laser therapy” and a one-page description of the therapy. 97026, Infrared Modality: This code describes laser therapy well. However, many insurance companies consider this code appropriate for infrared heat lamps. Reimbursement is low, but it is a legitimate code. 97140, Manual Therapy Techniques: Use this code if you are using laser therapy for massage. In this case, you must be using a laser fitted with a head designed to be a massage tool; you are not simply applying the laser in one place but are using it for massage; and your patient can experience and perceive that you are providing a massage service.
Sore No More
Topicals
www.sorenomore.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Sore No More: The Sore No More product has been patented for the treatment of the following physical issues: fibromyalgia, neuropathy, and cluster headaches. We are looking to schedule clinical trials to develop a protocol for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Sore No More: No open sores, parental supervision, and do not get into eyes.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Sore No More: Two procedures tend to offer the best results: 1) begin with low volume applications, about the size of a pea, and then work up to more coverage, 2) apply no more than three times a day. For stress, or tired clients: place a large tablespoon of Sore No More in a jar with hot water, place on a lid and shake to mix thoroughly. Then pour into a hot bath, (a jetted tub is best) and relax with maximum body coverage. Do not use a hot tub or spa tub, which has reusable water.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
Sore No More: We are willing to assist any therapist seeking unique solutions for their client.
Southwest Technologies Inc
Hot and cold therapy
www.elastogel.com
RM: What are some of your latest product developments?
Southwest Technologies Inc: With more than 35 years of manufacturing, Southwest Technologies has developed its hot/cold therapy product line Elasto-Gel, consisting of more than 40 different shapes and sizes to best accommodate each person’s needs.
RM: What conditions or patient populations are best for your products?
Southwest Technologies Inc: Whether an injury from sports or other activity or a muscle degenerative disease, doing rehabilitation, having stress or sore muscles and other body aches, regardless of age or therapy needed, hot or cold therapy may be the answer to help aid with inflammation and swelling, thus reducing the pain and offering the body a sense of relief. Elasto-Gel therapy products are universal and can be used for moist therapy heat or soothing cold therapies.
RM: Can you provide any tips to therapists about how to use your products?
Southwest Technologies Inc: Elasto-Gel therapy products are easy to apply as the soft gel component will remain soft and flexible, even at -20 degrees when used for cold applications. The products will not dry out or leak if punctured, or become hard or change form, and are reusable after unlimited uses of hot therapy. The products have the ability to conform to all contoured areas and move with the patient, and are comfortable to wear.
RM: Are billing codes available for treatments your products provide?
Southwest Technologies Inc: Some therapists can include hot/cold therapy as part of the treatment plan and may be able to bill for service as well as product.
