Chronic Pain Management; alternatives to Opioids and their many side effects

Post by contributor Amanda Fenker

Unfortunately chronic pain affects a large portion of the population, current estimates say that around 50 million adults in the United States alone deal with chronic pain. While chronic pain can result from a myriad of different diseases, an often common denominator is the type of treatment that is used. Opioids have become the customary treatment option for sufferers with chronic pain, despite causing patients further and severe types of suffering while not truly helping them heal. The opioid epidemic has become widespread, causing overdoses, misuse, and abuse at highly alarming rates. While chronic pain is tenacious and life debilitating, opioids are a very unideal way to manage it, especially when there are holistic practices that work to actually heal the cause of the pain and not simply mask it. Rather than prescribing drugs that are ruining the lives of already hurting people, it is long past time we change our pain management treatments.

One holistic and nonaddictive approach to managing chronic pain includes Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicinal practice that was greatly ignored in Western medicine until recent decades. Acupuncturists use tiny needles to activate pressure points found throughout the human body that can release qi, or energy, in certain areas of the body, or that may connect to a neurotransmitter that allows the brain to release chemicals such as endorphins, relieving pain and tension in the body. Acupuncture is an amazing alternative to Opioids when looking for pain management with the side effects including reduced stress, tension, and improved mental clarity… all of which we recommend over the addictive side effects of Opioids.

Other natural alternatives for managing chronic pain include aromatherapy and massage therapy. The essential oils of plants are used in aromatherapy to stimulate senses that send messages to the nervous system to react in several different ways. Although aromatherapy is often used for stress management and depression, studies have found that it is also beneficial in chronic pain management. Especially when combined with massage therapy, aromatherapy has been shown to greatly help manage chronic pain, and once again with the biggest side effects including reduced stress and happier patients, these are definitely preferred management routes.

With so many different types of holistic and natural treatment options available to us, it is time to stop allowing the Opioid crisis to continue. Using acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage therapy, and various other natural remedies either combined or separate can not only greatly reduce chronic pain but can also improve overall lifestyle. Victims of chronic pain have enough to worry about without being prescribed highly addictive and life ruining substances.

Sources:

Anson, Pat. “CDC: 50 Million Americans Have Chronic Pain.” Pain News Network, Pain News Network, 13 Sept. 2018, www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2018/9/13/cdc-50-million-americans-have-chronic-pain.

Harvard Health Publishing. “Relieving Pain with Acupuncture.” Harvard Health, www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/relieving-pain-with-acupuncture.

Lakhan, Shaheen E, et al. “The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy in Reducing Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Pain Research and Treatment, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5192342/.

Zweifler, John A. “Objective Evidence of Severe Disease: Opioid Use in Chronic Pain.” The Annals of Family Medicine, www.annfammed.org/content/10/4/366.full.