Opioid usage in the U.S. first began in the late 19th Century when heroin, and its derivatives morphine, first became readily available. In the early 1900s opioids were used as a cough medication. As little was known about the long-term effects, usage and addiction became widespread.

Failure by the medical community to adequately manage pain has created an epidemic of prescription-painkiller abuse that has wreaked havoc on the lives of countless people in New Berlin WI and across the U.S. Every day over 1,000 people across the country are treated in emergency settings for prescription opioid misuse.

The CDC, or Center for Disease Control, states that up to 25 percent of people who have received prescription opioids from their healthcare provider for a long term, non-carcinoma pain management have, at some point, struggled with opioid addiction. Opioid-involved fatalities have increased six-fold since 1999. In 2017 over 47,000 people died from opioid overdoses with yet another two million people either abusing or becoming dependent on the drugs.

Chiropractic Treatment as an Alternative in New Berlin WI

Chiropractic care and other types of non-pharmacological methods of pain management are often better long-term care options than opioid medications. Chiropractic treatment for skeletal-muscular pain has been shown to promote significant reductions in the prescription of and dependency on opioid medications. Aside from concerns of addiction, merely masking pain can lull a practice member into thinking their condition is not as severe as it is or that an injury has healed. This will often delay the healing process and can create a permanent debilitating condition.

Chiropractic care is not limited to joint adjustments but include massage and therapeutic exercises. Not only do these methods reduce or eliminate the chance of addiction, chiropractic treatment is a reliable first-choice option for pain management, allowing the body to heal naturally and is an invaluable tool for anyone trying to get off opioid pain medications.

A chiropractor is a pain relief specialist, providing treatment for pain of the neck, lower back, hands, hips, and knees.

Research Supported Guidelines

Kelsey Corcoran of the Yale School of Medicine states stopping opioid addiction and overdose is a significant public health priority. New data shows those who visit a chiropractor for a skeletal-muscular pain were half as likely to require opioid medication prescription than others who only saw traditional healthcare providers.

Numerous studies have validated chiropractic treatment's effectiveness. The Joint Commission, accrediting over 20,000 healthcare systems across America, recognized non-drug approaches to pain in its pain-management standard in 2015.

The CDC released new guidelines in 2016 for prescribing opioids that encourage non-opioid alternatives for treating chronic pain. The American College of Physicians updated its guidelines as recently as 2017 for including chiropractic treatment for both acute and chronic lower back pain before turning to opioid medications. Many studies cite chiropractic spinal adjustments as one of the best alternatives to drug therapies for lower back pain.

Summary

Because the risk of addiction and overdose are of such concern, the prescription opioid medication should only and always be used as a last resort. Many skeletal-muscular issues can be successfully treated with chiropractic adjustment without resorting to pain medications.

The American Chiropractic Association encourages healthcare providers and their practice members to fully exhaust all non-pharmacological forms of pain management, whenever possible, before moving on to potentially addictive drug therapies. Please give our office a call if you need a pain relief specialist or therapeutic exercise in Brookfield WI, New Berlin WI, or Williams Bay WI. Your family's health is always our top priority.