Compass Opioid Stewardship 2026 Virtual Symposium-FREE NO CME-03-Hands on Techniques-Quick Hit Application Session-Christine Blake Smith-Handouts

03-Hands on Techniques-Quick Hit Application Session-Christine Blake Smith-Handouts

Pdf Summary

This presentation, “Hands-On Medicine: Improve Pain Care and Reduce Medication Reliance,” from the Compass Opioid Stewardship 2026 Virtual Symposium, argues that brief, evidence-informed manual techniques can enhance chronic pain care in time-limited primary care visits and reduce default reliance on medications. The speaker emphasizes the clinical reality that chronic pain patients are complex, clinicians have limited time, and many providers were not trained in practical hands-on approaches—making medication escalation an easy but incomplete solution.<br /><br />The core message is that touch functions as a therapeutic intervention that can modulate the nervous system in real time. Proposed mechanisms include reduced stress hormone output, increased parasympathetic (vagal) tone, signaling safety to the nervous system, decreased muscle spindle activity with sustained pressure, and effects on fascial mechanoreceptors and sympathetic tone. Touch is also framed as a relational tool that builds trust and strengthens the therapeutic alliance, improving patient engagement in multimodal care.<br /><br />An evidence snapshot is cited: osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) has shown improvements in chronic low back pain and function (e.g., Licciardone et al., Annals of Family Medicine 2013; systematic reviews), and moderate-pressure massage is associated with lower cortisol and increased vagal tone (Field, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews). The presenter stresses that even non-osteopathic clinicians can use simple techniques in under two minutes and can teach them for home use.<br /><br />Five practical techniques are reviewed: suboccipital release (30–60 seconds), diaphragm release (60–90 seconds), sustained paraspinal soft tissue (60–90 seconds, with self- and partner-care teaching), rib raising (60–90 seconds) to influence sympathetic tone, and a lymphatic/pedal pump (about 60 seconds) to support lymphatic flow and reduce congestion.<br /><br />Key takeaways: touch is “medicine,” brief hands-on contact can change pain physiology quickly, and adding manual skills expands non-pharmacologic options, improves alliance, and supports safer opioid stewardship.

Keywords

hands-on medicine

chronic pain management

manual therapy techniques

osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)

primary care pain care

opioid stewardship

non-pharmacologic pain treatment

therapeutic touch

vagal tone and parasympathetic activation

suboccipital release