“THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC!” This is a phrase that is being used more and more, and is quickly becoming a household term. How many times a day do you see commercials on TV advertising for addiction counseling and rehabilitation for substance abuse? Even worse, how many of us have a friend or family member who is abusing or addicted to opioids? How many people have lost someone to misuse or overdose of these same medications? How many people turn to heroin when they can’t get more opioids? The numbers are growing every day, and the statistics are staggering, and utterly heart-breaking. The unfortunate truth is that although these medications are prescribed at an alarming rate, they do nothing to solve the problems causing the pain for which they are often prescribed. Prescription opioids are, at best, a mask or “band-aid” for the symptoms. However, there is good news. There are physicians who practice a form of conservative medicine, called chiropractors, whose main goal is to find and treat the biomechanical and physiological causes of musculoskeletal pain. Chiropractors are trained and skilled in how to diagnose and treat these conditions safely, effectively, and completely drug-free. Below, you will find information regarding “the opioid epidemic,” what is being done by the healthcare industry to improve the current trend, and also how your local chiropractor can help you overcome pain, without ever prescribing a single opioid medication.

Opioids are typically prescribed for pain, and out of the patients presenting to the doctor’s office with pain-related diagnoses, or pain of a non-cancer origin, 20% received an opioid prescription. That’s one out of every five patients. According to the CDC, “in 2016, there were 81.3 opioid prescriptions for every 100 people in America.” There were 259 million opioid prescriptions written in 2012, which is enough for every American adult to have his or her own bottle. Over the five year period from 2007 to 2012, opioid prescriptions rose 7.3%. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002) found that 14.6% of adults had chronic wide-spread or localized pain. Another survey (2001-2003) revealed an estimated 43% prevalence of common, musculoskeletal pain among US adults. More recent research from the 2012 National Heath Interview Study indicated that 11.2% of adults have daily pain. When we consider these numbers, it isn’t necessarily surprising that so many opioids are prescribed. However, like I mentioned before, these medications only treat the pain symptoms, but do nothing to correct the dysfunctions that cause the pain. Luckily for all these pain-sufferers, changes are being made in our current healthcare model to promote non-drug therapies for treatment of musculoskeletal pain.

In March of 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association published a statement affirming “opioids should not be prescribed as first or second lines of pain therapy.” This publication suggested that professional standards be modified to “require alternative therapies designed to limit harm to Blue Cross Blue Shield members.” Currently, all BCBS companies provide coverage for non-opioid pain therapies, and across the US, they are helping train doctors and pharmacists, providing coaching services for those suffering from chronic pain, and offering support for families going through addiction recovery programs. There is a recent article from the Annals of Internal Medicine, titled: “Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians,” which gives recommendations for alternative, conservative treatment of low back pain. Of these recommendations, spinal manipulation was suggested as a possible alternative. That’s where your chiropractor comes into the equation.

As outlined in the Guidelines for the Practice of Chiropractic in North Carolina, “Chiropractic is an alternative, conservative form of health care which does not duplicate allopathic medicine and is successful at treating a wide variety of ailments. … Doctors of Chiropractic are trained in physical examination, diagnosis, treatment, management, reassessment and referral.” Applicants for licensure in the State of North Carolina are examined for their “clinical competency and the ability to identify a broad spectrum of illness and injury. Comprehensive training and rigorous licensure standards allow chiropractors to serve as primary care portals of entry into the health care system. ‘Primary Care’ does not mean full-service care, nor does it necessarily entail performing surgery or prescribing drugs. It means the physician possesses the training to identify a patient’s health problems and either treat or refer as warranted by the diagnosis and any scope of practice considerations.” If only the greater medical community and prospective patients saw chiropractic in this same light, chiropractors could help so many people overcome their pain, without ever introducing them to prescription opioids.  As I chiropractor, it excites me when I “solve the puzzles” patients present; to find the actual cause of their pain, provide a simple explanation, and tell them that I know how to make them feel better. What makes that even better is that I can tell them, with confidence, that we can accomplish this without prescribing medication. My prescriptions for my patients include chiropractic adjustments, rehab activities, diet and exercise recommendations, getting adequate sleep, and keeping a positive attitude and outlook on life. I have been in practice for less than 2 years, and I have already seen this model of conservative chiropractic care help so many people. If you are in pain, please consider seeing a chiropractor first, and see if your medical problems can be solved conservatively before considering opioids and surgery.