Functional Restoration Program

The Asclepius Functional Restoration Program (FRP) fulfills the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule (MTUS) criteria of 20 full-day session equivalents, frequent evaluations, and periodic reports. Asclepius’s FRP is approximately six months long.  Patients who stay in the program report having an overall better quality of life upon completion.

Asclepius’s program differs from the typical FRP by using behavior modification principles that emphasize a slow steady approach reinforced by positive peer group dynamics. At Asclepius patients stay in the same group, creating a positive therapeutic environment, resulting in an overall higher success rate. Daily sessions are limited to two hours since most chronic pain patients have a hard time sitting through an eight-hour day. The program includes scheduled sustained support for up to one year as well as patient follow up with a registered nurse several times weekly.

Our FRP incorporates ongoing medical care and supervision, exercise progression, nutritional counseling, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Each patient becomes physically active, adopts routine daily stretching and exercise schedules, and learns healthy diet practices in a controlled environment. The patient often begins to experience changes in body composition and weight loss, if needed. By using their new pain management skills, patients are able to resume their roles in family, community, and work, decreasing their dependence on medications and the health care system.