All you need to do is watch a news show or spend just a few minutes online browsing headlines, and it quickly becomes obvious that our country’s mainstream health care system is failing patients who suffer from chronic pain. This often leaves such patients either undertreated or not treated at all.

Even the best options among over-the-counter or prescription medications are either ineffective or have unpleasant side effects. Worse yet, one of the most common prescription pain medications for chronic pain, opioids, can run the risk of addiction or overdose. Chronic pain patients in this situation often struggle with their ability to work, attend school, or take care of their family. Given all this, many patients turn to chiropractic care to treat chronic pain.

How severe is the current opioid crisis in the United States, and what are the alternatives that chiropractic care can offer?

Chronic Pain and Opioid Crisis Facts

Current public health estimates estimate that more than 25 million people in the United States have some type of chronic pain, which is usually defined as daily pain lasting at least three months.

Unfortunately, the number of opioid related overdose deaths has been on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), prescription opioid-related overdose deaths have quadrupled since 1999. In addition, almost 2 million other Americans struggled with prescription opioid addiction just in 2014.

Chiropractic for Chronic Pain

When you think about chiropractic care, one of the first images that probably comes to mind is manipulation of the spine. This is the foundation of all chiropractic care and relies on the understanding that any misalignment of the spinal vertebrae will place pressure on the nerves leading in and out of the spinal column. This pressure on the nerves interferes with proper signaling between the brain and the various parts of the body, thereby leading to illness, injury, inflammation, and pain.

Misalignment can occur as a result of poor posture, age, or certain degenerative conditions such as arthritis. Dr. Horst can correct these misalignments by opening up the spaces between the individual vertebrae so that they can be eased back into proper position, thereby releasing pressure on the trapped nerves, which in turn will relieve pain.

While it is true that spinal manipulation is the basis of all chiropractic care, there are other treatments that Dr. Horst can use to relieve chronic pain. Gentle stretching, exercises, cold and heat therapy, vitamins and supplements, dietary counseling, and specialized musculoskeletal manipulation techniques (such as Active Release Therapy) can also be used to help reduce chronic pain.

In fact, a 2012 study found that a group of 272 patients who underwent chiropractic treatment and exercise for chronic neck pain were twice as likely to report becoming pain free than were those who were only taking medicine at the end of 12 weeks. 32 percent of those receiving chiropractic care reported being pain free at the end of the study, and 30 percent of those doing exercises reporting being pain free, while only 13 percent of those treated with medication reported no pain at the end of the 12 weeks.

Chronic pain can be debilitating, and standard medical treatment may either be ineffective or come with equally devastating side effects. Fortunately, the full spectrum of chiropractic care can offer a safe, effective alternative.