Narcan vs Chiropractic

Being ignorant of our opioid epidemic is not an excuse, but the solution by our Surgeon General to go buy Narcan is completely ignorant. If you have not been paying attention their is an opioid crisis underway. A large portion of the addictions we see today did not start off as addicts. They just wanted to be pain free, not needing to get high.

Yet, the Surgeon General just thought it was a good idea to , "urge more Americans to, purchase, an antidote those that overdose accidentally": Narcan.

I can not tell you how angry this makes me. As if the solution wasn't a completely horrible option. Now the answer to the the solution for the solutions issues is another thing you and I have to buy? I know I am not supposed to show, or talk about this in a manner that makes me seem as if I am an angry, irrational person. However, I admit, this makes me an angry, irrational person.

My family and friends often help me through these times. Again, they have some good advice.

Control the things you can. Conservative Management of pain through chiropractic care is what I can do about this problem.

The prescription painkiller epidemic vs chiropractic care:

Opioid dugs only mask the pain. They do not fix or treat the problem. They make the pain less so you can do more. That being a huge problem because doing more when its a physical issue causes more issues. This misunderstanding can lead to a huge delay in your healing process and often lead to permanent problems that will never go away.

Drugs given by their associated profession for back pain: [1] [2]

Primary care MD:  28%.8

Internists:  14.6%

Orthopaedic Surgeons:  7.7%

Chiropractic Physicians:  0%

Yet to our amazement, a research paper written and published in the British Journal of Medicine back in the 90's was the most eloquent of them all:

Conclusions: " At three years the results confirm the findings of an earlier report that when chiropractic or hospital therapists that patients with low back pain as they would in day to day practice treated by chiropractic derive more benefit and long term satisfaction that those treated by hospitals" [3]

 

  1. Practice analysis of chiropractic 2015. NBCE.
  2. The Opioid Epidemic: Impact on Orthopaedic Surgery. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic surgeons, 2015; 23 (5): 267 10.5435/JAAOS-D-14-00163.
  3. Randomised comparison of chiropractic and hospital outpatient management for low back pain: results from extended follow up. BMJ 1995 Aug 5; 311(7001): 349–351.

Allergies & Medications

According to a new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, they have associated those children and adults that develop allergies in their life to be directly linked to acid-suppressive medications and antibiotic use as an infant. [1]

Yet another perfect reminder, unless it’s an emergency, use conservative management methods before you reach for a magic pill solution. Throughout chiropractic, medicine, or other forms of clinical management of any patient the primary goal is to do no harm. Unless its an emergency, conservative management of any patient needs to be the first step to fixing our overall prospective in our health care system. Especially when we observe the expected need for medications rather than education and self improvement is considered.

 

Contact Flathead Chiropractic for a consultation if you have any questions about you or your children's health!

 

  1. Use of Acid-Suppressive Medications and Antibiotics During Infancy and Allergic Diseases in Early Childhood. JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 02, 2018. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.0315