Public health trends show urgent need for safe and effective care during National Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month

SAN JOSE, California, August 24, 2021 / PRNewswire / – During National Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month in September, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) warns that worsening patterns of pain and drug overdose mortality in patients The United States is on track to officially surpass the record of 90,000 deaths in 2020, indicating a greater need than ever for Americans to seek safe, effective, and drug-free chiropractic care.

Two recent and significant pieces of evidence point to these trends in public health. The first, a 17 year study published in April, found a “significant escalation in the prevalence of pain” among adult men and women in the United States aged 25 to 84. back and neck pain (15% and 16% increase). The researchers note that their findings “support the need for broad interdisciplinary research and interventions for effective responses to the growing problem of pain in patients. United States. “

The second trend is the increase in drug overdose deaths. In december 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a Press release linking major mental and economic health disruptions caused by COVID-19 to a record 81,000 deaths between May 2019 and May 2020. Provisional data from the CDC, which is not yet finalized, shows that this upward trajectory has continued unabated, reaching 90,000 deaths for the 12 months ending in november 2020.

In the announcement, the CDC attributed the direct cause of the increase in overdose deaths to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, rather than prescription opioids. A august 2020 study in Drug and alcohol addiction, however, shows that an inability to obtain prescription opioids is associated with the onset of heroin use. Such findings are echoed in a National Institute on Drug Abuse report released in June which also found that prescription opioids often precede heroin use and that many people with a drug use disorder. Opioids report that they have switched from prescription drugs to heroin due to the lower cost and ease of access.

“These worrying trends are further indicators that a pharmacological approach to non-cancerous musculoskeletal pain is not only ineffective, but also dangerous,” said Sherry McAllister, DC, President of F4CP. As the country hopefully emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic for good, our progress in tackling the opioid epidemic falters as the pain continues to weaken more Americans than it does. two decades ago. Fortunately, evidence continues to emerge that safe, drug-free chiropractic care can help more people find the relief they need without the risks associated with opioids and other addictive pharmaceutical drugs prescribed for pain, such as pain relievers. benzodiazepines. “

Inverse association between chiropractic and opioid use

A recent such study on the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care found that adverse drug incidents occurred 42 times more often in elderly patients who were first prescribed opioids than in patients. who had first received spinal manipulation therapy (TMS). DCs provide nearly 97% of TMS in the United States, according to a recent analysis of claims data covering 12 months of experience in a nationally commercially insured population. Adverse drug events can include medication errors, overdoses, or other drug reactions that may harm the patient.

Likewise, a december 2020 study in Pain medication found that patients with back pain who saw a chiropractor were twice as likely to fill an opioid prescription. Among those who saw a chiropractor within 30 days of diagnosis, the risk reduction was greater than those who visited for the first time after the acute phase. A review of the literature published the previous year, also in Pain medication, came to a similar conclusion, the authors noting an “inverse association” between chiropractic use and patients receiving an opioid prescription from another provider since doctors of chiropractic (DCs) do not prescribe pharmaceutical drugs.

“During Drug-Free Pain Management Month, we recognize that pain and disorders associated with opioid use continue to be closely related and that growing public health issues require an interdisciplinary model of care. which most often includes drug-free care, such as chiropractic, as a first priority. linear approach, ”said Dr. McAllister. “Chiropractic care alone cannot solve these pressing and complex challenges, but it can certainly play an important role. Doctors of chiropractic across the country are eager to do their part to help reverse these trends. “

About the Foundation for the Advancement of Chiropractic

A non-profit organization with more than 29,000 members, the Foundation for the Advancement of Chiropractic (F4CP) informs and educates the general public on the value of chiropractic care provided by Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) and its role in the management pain without medication. Visit www.f4cp.org; call 866-901-F4CP (3427).

National Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month is held every September to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter pain relievers.

Media contact: Marcia Rhodes / [email protected]

SOURCE Foundation for the Advancement of Chiropractic

Related links

https://www.f4cp.org/

Maria J. Book