Palm Trees

Attention Turns Toward Conservative, Chiropractic Treatment For Pain as Prescription-Free Alternative

As the U.S. government declares prescription painkiller misuse a crisis and an epidemic, chiropractors across the country are stepping up to assist national efforts to stop painkiller abuse and help prevent addictions.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recently praised federal initiatives to help lower rates of prescription drug misuse and addictions. The federal measures align with ACA efforts to ask patients, physicians and health service deliverers to first evaluate medication-free treatments for managing chronic pain rather than prescribing a painkiller.

A federal report released in 2011 regarding prescription painkiller abuse says that the problem is rapidly escalating toward abuse of opioids such as Vicodin and Oxycontin. In the past, people who abused heroin are more likely to suffer a fatal overdose than other drug users – but today, more people die of accidental overdose of painkillers than heroin.

Chiropractic medicine can offer patients relief from pain without the use of opioids and help prevent accidental overdose and addictions. Dr. Rick McMichael, president of the ACA, said in a statement that anyone who delivers medical services is encouraged to look for conservative treatments that may not carry overdose risks and side effects, and to make sure each patient knows what alternatives to prescription painkillers are available.

Chiropractic care may also gain more attention with federally-proposed initiatives to help cut prescription drug abuse, including a focus on more patient and physician education toward painkiller use and the tracking of patients' prescription painkiller activity, especially from pharmacy to pharmacy. ACA representatives say preventing the addiction to painkillers is the first step, and can be accomplished when patients are offered alternatives to managing their pain that don't involve medications.

Many patients who become addicted to prescription painkillers are thought to begin using the medications following back surgeries, a leading factor in disability in America. Chiropractic care can target pain in the spine, back, neck and head, making surgery unnecessary for some patients and helping prevent others from needing prescription painkillers. Physicians are also asked to consider options like acupuncture or massage therapy as they explore prescription-free pain management options.

Often described as a medical specialty, chiropractic care involves manual manipulation of the spine and related joints, along with therapies targeted toward soft tissues, to relieve a subluxation or joint problem. Many chiropractic centers also combine lifestyle and nutrition-based therapies with a counseling approach to help patients achieve overall wellness and the reduction of long-term pain.

From 2004 to 2009, emergency rooms in the U.S. saw more than 1.2 million patients for problems associated with prescription medications, including overdoses and abuse. The federal plan to reduce prescription painkiller abuse targets a 15 percent reduction over a five-year period, especially toward opioid painkillers.