The Opioid Crisis: How Did We End Up Here?
Many of the people who contacted us looking for a natural pain doctor in Austin, Texas did so after Googling ‘How did the opioid crisis start?” Here’s why.
Bottom Line:
If you regularly watch the news, you've probably wondered to yourself, "How did the opioid crisis start? ”
The solution, though, might surprise you.
The way that pain was seen and handled in medicine underwent a profound change about 30 years ago.
The number of people who experience chronic pain appeared to be growing, and it was believed that there weren't enough treatment alternatives available.
Why it Matters:
Doctors focused more on diagnosing pain while also focusing more on pain management.
Enter opioids.
Chronic low back or neck pain started to result in greater and more prescriptions for opioid painkillers.
Surprisingly, up until that point, opioids were only administered for excruciating pain following surgery or for terminal cancer.
But that all changed in the early 1990’s.
Physicians were urged to administer these drugs significantly more liberally than before, including for the treatment of chronic pain, while new opioid formulations were marketed as being less addictive.
The rapid prescription of these medications led to and revealed a number of issues.
Healthcare practitioners saw that patients adapted to the medications quickly, necessitating the prescription of bigger and larger doses over time to maintain the claimed pain-suppressing benefits.
That, of course, indicated that these medications weren't very successful at treating chronic pain.
Although they offered relief in the near term, they appeared to lose their usefulness over time for many patients.
In addition, the euphoric high these drugs frequently produce puts their users at significant risk of addiction.
Next Steps:
About 30 years later, we are currently dealing with an opioid problem.
If there is a bright spot, it is that we as a society now understand that chronic pain is rarely treated or solved by popping a pill.
Now, numerous prestigious healthcare organizations advise using non-pharmacological methods, such as chiropractic, to treat chronic pain.
Make an appointment with us right away if you want to learn more about a drug-free method of pain relief.
As Austin, Texas' premier natural pain doctor, we offer the resources and expertise you've been seeking for.
We're here to help, and our doors are always open!
Science Source: