National conversation regarding pain management and opioid awareness is on the rise, elevating new pain management solutions with complimentary care.
An Opinion Piece in Crain’s Chicago Business recently highlighted the growing concern for America’s opioid epidemic and makes for a timely discussion of pain management.
As Juliet S. Sorensen, Director of the Northwestern Access to Health Project, explains, opioid addiction has spread across America – hitting families and communities at an alarming rate. In 2014, there were 18,893 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers (American Society of Addiction Medicine). The article links the addictiveness of prescription opioids to prescription rates.
“The volume of prescription pain reliever sales in 2010 was four times the volume in 1999. In 2012 alone, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids. From 1999 to 2008, overdose deaths, sales and substance disorder treatment related to prescription pain relievers all increased.”
To provide answers for those seeking solutions, the Northwestern Access to Health Project held a Chicago symposium on the opioid crisis. Experts from a range of disciplines provided insight, fresh perspective and opportunities to collaborate. As Sorensen urges, “a coordinated, multifaceted strategy is essential to crest the arc of the opioid epidemic.”
Simultaneously, a similar conversation is occurring throughout complimentary medical communities that focus on pain management. Doctors of chiropractic care are encouraging awareness for the value of a conservative approach to pain management. Coinciding with National Chiropractic Health Month, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) reminds the public “chiropractic services, and other non-drug approaches, are an important first line of defense against pain and may in some cases lessen or eliminate the need for over-the-counter and prescription painkillers.”
There is good reason for the growing confidence in complimentary and natural therapies. Thanks to evidence-based findings, alternative approaches are on the rise. As Time recently reported, “close to 42% of adults with a musculoskeletal pain disorder used at least one alternative health approach, and 50% of people with neck pain did.”According to the Time report, around 3 million Americans have used acupuncture.
Research from the National Institutes of Health focusing on the top five pain conditions, back pain, osteoarthritis, neck pain, severe headaches and migraine, and fibromyalgia is giving pain sufferers hope. Among findings, researchers say alternative therapies show promising results with safety and effectiveness.
“The paradigm of pain management is shifting,” said Dr. Roberts, Director of Chiropractic Physical Medicine at Aligned Modern Health. “What was once labeled ‘alternative medicine’ is increasingly becoming a mainstream.
It’s no longer a dialog of Eastern medicine vs West. We are working together with a renewed quest to get to the root cause of pain instead of masking symptoms.”
To learn more about how complimentary care can help you manage chronic pain, visit us for a free consultation.
