Have you ever wondered if taking painkillers for a long time is bad for your body?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not talking about Tylenol, Ibuprofen or Aleve. I\u2019m talking about opioids.<\/p>\n
Not sure if you are taking one?<\/p>\n
Some of the most commonly prescribed opioids are hydrocodone (e.g.\u00a0Vicodin<\/strong>), oxycodone (e.g.\u00a0OxyContin, Percocet<\/strong>), and morphine. Many of us have taken one of these prescription drugs for some kind of pain.<\/p>\n “If you knew a few things about these drugs, you really would think twice before taking them casually just because a doctor prescribes them.”\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In the past 20 years, opioid prescriptions in the U.S. skyrocketed, because it became legal to prescribe opioids to treat chronic non-cancer pain. The pharmaceutical companies did not miss out on this big opportunity, and have marketed these drugs aggressively.\u00a0(1)<\/sup><\/p>\n Before this opioid crisis just sort of exploded in our face, we\u2019ve made some really foolish and dangerous assumptions.<\/p>\n Fact:\u00a0<\/strong>Opioid painkillers have killed more people than cocaine and heroin combined, and most of these deaths (60%) happen when the doctors followed prescribing guidelines by medical boards.\u00a0(1)<\/sup><\/p>\n Fact:\u00a0<\/strong>When we really looked into the effectiveness of opioids in treating chronic pain, the result is inconclusive.\u00a0(2)\u00a0<\/sup>To put it another way, the result is an underwhelming \u201cmeh\u201d.<\/p>\n Fact:\u00a0<\/strong>Over-prescription of opioids has led to a sharp increase in opioid addiction in both medical and nonmedical users, and this over-prescription is also associated with increase in heroin abuse.\u00a0(3)<\/sup><\/p>\n Fact:\u00a0<\/strong>Effective treatment modalities for chronic pain include manipulation, manual therapy, endurance exercise, stretching, strengthening, behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. .\u00a0(4)<\/sup><\/p>\n As more and more opioids are prescribed, there is another problem we didn\u2019t pay much attention to until a few years ago. Scientists are afraid that\u00a0chronic use of these painkillers may make you MORE sensitive to pain after all<\/strong>. .\u00a0(5)\u00a0<\/sup>As this is a fairly new problem, we don\u2019t fully understand how it happens. Nonetheless, the problem is real and significant.<\/p>\n Sometimes, you may not feel like you have a choice besides medications. The fact is, most of the time you do. I\u2019ve seen patients with 30 years of chronic headaches, persistent pain after surgery, chronic low back pain, and many other unexplained chronic pain, and most of them report complete resolution or significant relief after going through specific neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation at our office. If you know someone who is struggling with chronic non-cancer pain, advise him\/her to seek out conservative care first.<\/p>\n P.S. I hope you like John Oliver. Enjoy.<\/p>\nMyth: Opioids are safe, as long as they are prescribed by doctors.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Myth: Opioids are effective, as long as they are prescribed by doctors.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Myth: Unlike heroin, prescribed opioid painkillers do not cause heroin addiction.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Myth: Opioids are my best options for getting a handle on chronic pain.<\/strong><\/h5>\n