By this point, America’s opioid epidemic is well documented. Prescribed to help patients manage pain, opioids are highly addictive. Chronic lower back pain is one of the most common reasons patients are prescribed opioids. Researchers studying pain management among U.S. veterans report that chiropractic care helps reduce opioid use in these patients.
Eventually, opioids change the way your brain works. The patient becomes addicted because their brain no longer produces the chemicals that make them feel happy. They only get those feelings from the narcotic.
Unfortunately, opioids are highly addictive. Often, that addiction happens much more quickly than the patient would suspect. And once addicted, the studies linked above show that the patient stays addicted. This is due to those chemical changes in the brain. The best way to prevent an addiction to pain pills is to not take them from the beginning. Researchers report that patients who seek chiropractic care are nearly 50 percent less likely to be prescribed opioids. That’s because chiropractic treatment helps relieve chronic pain, particularly in the lower back, neck, and joints.
