The Opioid Crisis: What You Can Do.

The opioid crisis is a major issue here in the United States. According to drugabuse.gov:

“In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread diversion and misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.”

These are some astonishing facts:

-Roughly 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them

-Between 8 and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder

-About 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids

Looking at all of these facts are very disturbing and discouraging. But what can we do to prevent this from getting much worse? Conservative Chiropractic Care should be considered as a first line of defense when you are in pain. Chiropractic care uses your body’s natural hormones (endorphins and enkephalins) to help to block your pain perception. In addition, by restoring your body’s normal function of muscles, joints, and tendons, you’re body is in a better condition to heal more efficiently. All of that without the side-effects of opioids.

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance use, there is help. Illinois Helpline (https://helplineil.org/app/home) is a good resource if you are in this situation.

This is a very big crisis, but there are simple steps that we can take to help tackle this problem.