Chiropractic Care, Not Drugs for Pain Relief

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What do prescription painkillers OxyContin, Vicodin and codeine, have in common with illegal drugs like heroin? They are all in a class of drugs known as opioids – highly effective, highly addictive pain relievers.

So why go directly to pharmaceuticals when conservative care can relieve your pain?

Experts agree that overprescribing and easy access to these painkillers fueled the opioid epidemic we grapple with today.  In the United States, overdose deaths involving prescription opioids were five times higher in 2017 than in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In fact, opioids have overtaken automobile accidents as the top cause of accidental death in the country, Federal Drug Enforcement Administration figures show. Most everyone knows someone whose life has been touched by this epidemic.

The problem is, millions of Americans who suffer from pain still are prescribed opioids. These people need safer, effective alternatives to treat their pain – from low back pain to migraines.

For many people who suffer with chronic pain, chiropractic care can offer a drug-free, non-invasive and cost-effective alternative to opioid drugs.  

Research has shown that patients who visited a chiropractor for a musculoskeletal pain conditions were 49 percent less likely to receive an opioid prescription than their counterparts who went to other healthcare providers. Patients under chiropractic care were 55 percent less likely to fill a prescription for an opioid medication.

That’s because chiropractic works!

The FDA, the American College of Physicians, and the Journal of the American Medical association all recommend considering treatment by chiropractors before opioids. Medical experts also recommend chiropractic care during any treatment with pain-relieving drugs to lower the amounts needed.

Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated and best recognized of the complementary care professions.  Gallup surveys found that 77 percent of patients seeing chiropractors report their care as “very effective.”[i]

A chiropractic physician’s unique approach to your health care will be designed specifically to help you reach your desired goals in the shortest time possible and to help you maintain them – all without drugs.

For more information or to locate an ANJC chiropractic physician in your area, please click Find a Doctor above.

[i] https://news.gallup.com/poll/194984/one-four-adults-sought-care-neck-back-pain-last-year.aspx