Millions of people in the United States experience pain daily. While some suffer pain from accidents, surgeries, and sports injuries, others have persistent headaches and back and neck pains. Due to this, doctors are prescribing millions of pain medications every day. Some of these prescriptions, like opioids, have side effects and cause addiction.
Today, several cases of opioid overuse have hit the news, making the Health Department declare opioid a public menace. Over two million Americans are addicted to commonly prescribed narcotic painkillers such as morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone. Moreover, thousands of individuals died in 2016 due to drug overdose. What’s more, opioid is not as effective in managing all sorts of pain. Also, if you experience pain after undergoing uterus, kidney, or bladder procedures, the drug will not help. There are many safe, non-opioid treatments for relieving pain, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. However, these pain medications can also have adverse effects on patients if you take them frequently. For this reason, you should avoid pain pills.
Fortunately, there are safer options. Acupuncture, massage, and high-technology treatments involving electrical signals are effective non-drug therapies for alleviating pain. If you suffer pain and want to avoid narcotic painkillers and other pain pills, you can talk to an anesthesiologist. The expert will examine you and determine the safest and most effective pain management treatment for you.
What Are Some Safer Alternatives To Pain Pills?
There are many non-drug pain control methods. Though some patients only need these medications and others prefer non-drug remedies that can be used alone or combined with medications, it is better to avoid the pills completely. Here are some of the effective pain management methods:
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist or a medical professional skilled and knowledgeable in physical medicine can develop exercise programs that will help manage pain and increase your functioning ability. Additionally, some people find relief from deep massages, whirlpools, and ultrasound. With massages, you will know how to control involuntary body functions like your heart rate. Relaxation training and the use of ice can also help manage chronic pain.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a treatment that involves inserting needles into your skin at specific points to balance your energy. The acupuncturist will help bring your body’s energy flow into proper balance by inserting the needles to a certain depth. Acupuncture points are places where a professional can stimulate your nerves, connective tissue, and muscles. The stimulation increases the flow of blood and triggers the natural painkillers found in the body. The treatment can help control various pain like migraines, tension headaches, and blood pressure. Moreover, this form of therapy can also help you manage the following:
- Neck pain
- Knee pain
- Low back pain
- Osteoarthritis
Surgery
A physician can perform specific procedures to correct body abnormalities that cause pain.
High-Tech Methods of Relieving Chronic Pain
Some individuals, especially those with chronic pain, may not find relief with non-drug treatments like physical therapy. Such patients need to undergo modern techniques to alleviate the pain and possibly prevent them from coming back. Some of these include:
Radio Waves
The medical practitioner inserts a needle near the nerve causing pain, and burns it using an electric current from radio waves. The process short-circuits the pain signal, and you will be pain-free for almost one year.
Nerve Blocks
Specialized pain doctors use X-ray imaging to inject numbing medication in the appropriate location. The doctor will inject you depending on your pain’s source and type. For example, if your face is painful, the expert will block nerves in your neck. The medication dampens pain or blocks it and may prevent the development of chronic pain. To get relief from this treatment, you need to go for repeated injections.
Electrical Signals
In this method, the physician will stimulate your nerves to provide muscle pain relief. The professional does this by first attaching pads to your skin and sending electrical signals with low voltage from a certain device to the part you feel pain through the pads. Although how the electrical signal works is not clear, the method may work by interrupting nerve signals or stimulating the body’s painkillers.
Spinal Cord Stimulation
If you have tried other pain management techniques and they failed, the specialist may suggest spinal cord stimulation. The method uses a device that looks like a pace-maker to replace pain with another tingling-like sensation. The healthcare provider will attach the tool to your lower back and connect it to the spinal canal through minute wires. When you feel pain, you send signals to the area using a remote control. The technique can also help you control back pain and neuropathy. To ensure you take proper care of your body, you need to know effective pain management methods. Remember, you do not have to treat all kinds of pain with opioids or other pain pills. The article highlights different ways you can relieve pain. Contact us to get more information about the other pain management methods we recommend. Contact us today at 844-639-8371!