Chronic pain is the most common reason for medical evacuation from Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, and spinal pain is the most frequent reason for medical boards across military services. Service members face unique challenges in coping with chronic pain, including role loss, the psychological impact of combat and negotiating the limited duty/profile/medical board process.
The amount requested by the Department of Defense (DoD) "to fund the pay and benefits of current and retired members of the military" for FY 2013, according to a report last fall from the Congressional Budget Office, Costs of Military Pay and Benefits in the Defense Budget. Of this amount -- roughly one-fourth of the entire military budget -- more than $90 million covers "basic pay, food and housing allowances, bonuses, and various types of special pay."
The January 24th edition of the CDP Research Update is now online.
In this segment, I continue on from part 1’s focus on “evolved perspective” and “integrating experiences” to discussing how helping individuals understand deployment’s impact on the nervous system seems to be helpful in facilitating positive clinical outcomes. Lastly, I discuss an anecdotal observation and subsequent treatment addendum that has proved helpful in increasing patient “buy in” and adherence to sleep protocols while reducing complaints about sleep.
The percentage of military suicides in 2008-2010 by servicemembers who had never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to a recent article in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior -- Suicides and Suicide Attempts in the U.S. Military, 2008–2010.