America is in the midst of a devastating opioid epidemic. We have been for quite some time, but it has recently been making headlines as communities previously unscathed now find themselves deeply affected.
Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the US with 52,404 lethal overdoses in 2015. Even more worrying, overdoses from prescription pain relievers were nearly twice that of heroin.
How Did We Get Here?
Money, negligence and downright un-ethical politics have all come together to create the perfect storm that we have been witnessing over the past 30 year. As most things do, it started with good intentions -an increase effort to diagnose and properly treat chronic pain in the 90s.
The opioid industry was quick to step up to the “challenge”. Drug-makers strongly encouraged physicians to prescribe powerful opioids for pain management while downplaying the addictive properties and potentially detrimental effects on a patient’s overall well-being.
Physicians at the time claimed that such assurances from drug companies made it easy for them to overprescribe medications while not realizing the true costs. Again, this was a gross display of negligence and lack of ethics on the part of physicians, regardless of what information was given to them by the drug companies who profit from an influx of deadly medications into their communities.
The influx of money in politics in later years allowed lobby groups such as PhRMA to easily buy out soulless politicians- quick to make a buck while not thinking twice about the cost to the communities that voted them into their positions of power.
The End of an Epidemic and Rise of Alternative Medicine
Communities have woken up to the disaster around them and demanded action from their politicians. It seems that finally steps are being taken to curb the epidemic. In fact, 41 states recently banded together to properly investigate pharmaceutical companies role in the opioid epidemic.
America is a long way from the end of this epidemic, but national attention is on the issue and steps are being taken. As physicians realize that opioids can’t be used as an all-purpose pain treatment, they have begun to turn to alternative medicines.
Chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists and other alternative medicine providers have long been considered “less-than” their MD counterparts. That is no longer the case. These specialties are getting the long-due respect they deserve for providing pain relief treatments that allow patients to live an unimpeded lifestyle.
Of people with lower back pain (the most common chronic pain condition in the United States) chiropractic is the second most commonly sought after treatment behind medications. There is good reason for this. Chiropractic has long been proven an effective treatment method for a range of painful conditions.
Likewise, prescriptions to physical therapists for back pain is now the recommended approach before prescribing addicting medications. Physical therapy programs have shown to be highly effective in treating acute pain symptoms without the need for additional medications.
As the opioid epidemic drags on it is important that physicians and their patients receive the proper education as to the available alternatives to addictive and potentially harmful pain medications. We know longer have the luxury at scoffing at pain treatments that have long been considered non-traditional.