What do you do about chronic pain management when prescription drugs fall short? Right now there are about five to eight million people in the U.S. that use prescription drugs to manage chronic pain. And yet there is insufficient evidence to show that long-term use of opioid therapy is effective at improving chronic pain, function or quality of life. In fact a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine tells us that prescription painkillers may not be the most effective treatment for chronic pain. Meanwhile the rate of abuse is dramatically increasing.
Chronic pain is often defined in the medical field as pain or discomfort that lasts three months or longer and does not improve in an expected time period, limits a person’s normal activities or quality of life. Chronic pain can be caused by a variety of things from an accident to a disease, and can range from back pain, headaches or conditions like fibromyalgia or nerve damage.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that the drugs being prescribed for chronic pain have only been tested in short-term trials. There aren’t studies showing that they work past three or six months. And more recent studies are showing that they are ineffective for long-term treatment. Instead, they are putting a great deal of people at risk for misuse, abuse, and potential dependence on these drugs.
According to the CDC, the prescription painkiller epidemic is real and deadly, claiming approximately 47,000 lives each year, more than car accidents or guns. And hospitalizations for addiction to painkillers has increased fourfold in recent years to more than 160,000 per year. We also see more and more stories in the news (Prince for example) of an injury that leads to chronic abuse of painkillers and eventually death.
So what do we do with chronic pain if the medicine currently offered to treat it is not only ineffective but poses serious risks such as dependence? At ExecuCare, we’ve found the most effective treatment for chronic pain is a multi-disciplinary approach that takes into account the condition and its causes, as well as an holistic strategy that addresses both the mind and the body. NTR Brain Restoration has had great results for dealing with chronic pain. There are also a range of other treatments including physical therapy, psychotherapy, biofeedback, chiropractic care, nutritional therapies, herbs, massage, low-level laser therapy, and exercise. Reach out to one of our specialists to help you decide which treatments can help you get on top of your pain and improve your quality of life.
