Effectiveness of Opioids for Pain Control is Questionable while Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation is Recommended
The opioid epidemic. It’s in the news. McHenry does not2 escape the opioid issue. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic sees some McHenry chiropractic patients with McHenry back pain struggle with opioids that were, at one time, prescribed to assist them in coping with their back pain and now want to be done with them. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic gets it and is ready to help McHenry back pain sufferers get relief without opioid drugs. The effectiveness of opioid drugs for control of McHenry back pain is doubted while spinal manipulation such as offered at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is recommended.
WHY OPIOIDS FOR BACK PAIN
Low back pain burdens a back pain patient’s life. It’s no wonder that a back pain sufferer wants a pill to get rid of the pain, a McHenry back surgery to remove the pain’s source now. Occasionally it is not that simple: the pill may have unwanted effects or the benefits may not last very long; the surgery relief may not continue or produced an unexpected outcome. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic values the role of drugs for pain relief when needed, admires the part back surgery has in a McHenry back pain sufferer’s journey toward pain relief and a better quality of life. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic also offers complementary care to those back pain relief options and, for some McHenry back pain sufferers, back surgery prevention in addition to post-back surgery rehabilitation and McHenry back pain relief.
OPIOIDS’ ROLE IN BACK PAIN RELIEF
A recent Cochrane data review of randomized clinical trials on the effectiveness of opioids and other drugs for chronic low back pain concluded that the effectiveness is poor. Opioids’ effects on pain reduction and function improvement are small to moderate and short-lasting compared to placebo. The side effects, serious ones for those who use strong opioids for a long time, were common. (1) Some patients react better to drug therapies than others. Researchers found it hard to determine just how effective drugs like oxycodone and clobazam and imipramine will be for which chronic low back pain patient. (2) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic figures out each McHenry back pain patient who comes for McHenry chiropractic care and establishes the appropriate treatment plan to get some back pain relief.
OPIOIDS AND BACK SURGERY
Patients choose back surgery often seeking quick pain relief that will stop the need for pain control drugs. Researchers checked into this idea and reported that many back pain sufferers who were took opioids before surgery expected that surgery would fix the problem and not have to take opioids anymore. Reality shows that of 2491 adults who underwent lumbar fusion back surgery, 1045 used long-term opioids before surgery, and 1094 needed opioids after surgery. Of the pre-operative opioid patients, 77.1% continued consuming them long-term, 13.8% occasionally, and just 9.1% discontinued or used them short-term afterward. 34.4% continued with a lower dose while 44.8% did so with a higher dose. Of those who didn’t use any opioids before back surgery, 12.8% became long-term users. What was the end result? What do patients need to know who are thinking about McHenry back surgery as the ultimate solution to their McHenry back pain? Lumbar fusion back surgery rarely stopped the long-term opioid use and increased the risk of starting their use later. Patient expectations of pain reduction and opioid use reduction need to be reevaluated. (3)
ALTERNATIVES TO OPIOIDS FOR BACK PAIN RELIEF
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
Schedule you McHenry chiropractic appointment today with OrthoIllinois Chiropractic. Opioids are not the only way to deal with McHenry back pain, particularly McHenry chronic low back pain. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic offers optimism for chronic low back pain relief to McHenry back pain sufferers desiring a way to avoid or escape the opioid epidemic.
