By Ruth Elder
24 years ago I was a slave to pain medications. Without them, I could not function. Over time though the side effects were starting to kill me. I found a solution to get me off. That is why I am writing this.
In 2016 opioid overdose killed more people in America than breast cancer or car accidents. The death rate is on the rise in many states including Texas.
This is not statistics and numbers. This is unbearable suffering again and again and again and...
Recently I listened to a report on NPR on people addicted to opioid pain killers and moving on to street drugs and how many people died from overdoses of such drugs.
What grabbed my attention, however, was a story of a man who had his whole life disrupted by severe pain. He could not work or participate in his children’s lives. Before you keep reading, please take a moment to take this in: A man in his prime unable to work or be involved in his children’s lives. Can you even?...
Why?
Because of severe, chronic pain!
So this man went to different doctors until he found one that was able to manage his pain enough that he could go back to work and sufficiently care for his children again. How? By prescribing a regimen of prescription drugs. He was taking them regularly, and it was keeping his pain in check.
Until it was not.
Here’s what happened: His doctor was fired from the pain management clicic due to what some thought was overprescribing narcotics. The new doctor wanted to get the patient off the massive doses of drugs. When he reduced the medications by 80% (!), there was insult to injury. Not only did he have to deal with the severe original pain, but he also had severe withdrawal symptoms. This is where the story ended. The patient was worse off than when he started. Two Doctors were frustated. Many Doctors don’t want to go into pain management due to the complexity and liability. Bottom line: They don’t know what to do!
However, I would have hoped for another ending.
The two doctors in this story were both trying to help. One by relieving the pain. The other by being concerned about the drug addiction.
What was missing? Neither one was able to address the cause of the pain. It seems too obvious. What would happen if the condition that caused the pain was no longer there? What if there was a highly trained physician who would know how to analyze the cause of the pain, remove that cause and allow the body to start healing.
The good news: No the Great News:
Doctors who can help the pain without drugs exist. They have studied the body as much as Medical Doctors, but instead of considering drugs (medicine) they have practiced how to manipulate the spine to keep the nerves flowing better through the spine so the brain can take over the healing. These Doctors are Chiropractors. Just like in medicine there are different fields of study. For cases where the pain is severe, it would make sense to go to a Chiropractor who is an expert in digging deeper. For example; do they use imaging such as X-Ray or CT Scan to see what is going on?
Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractors examine the part of the neck where the brain sends the signals to the rest of the body. By removing the problem there, the body is free to work on healing itself.
What if the man in the NPR story had seen a Chiropractor who could remove the cause of the pain? What if the body could heal? Would there be a need for pain management if the pain was gone?
Here at the Blair Chiropractic Clinic, we are passionate about restoring health rather than managing pain. Based on this story I can't help, but think we might even be part of saving someone's life. If you or someone you know have severe pain why don't you give us a call and we can talk about what help is best for you. Everybody starts with a screening appointment. It is quick, affordable and completely painless. Not local to Lubbock? We have a list of great Chiropractors around the world who can help.