At the Arthritis Relief Institute we use a variety of tools to treat your pain. Pain medication may be one of those tools, but it shouldn’t always be the first one to be used in your pain management treatment plan. Treatment options such as physical therapy and exercise therapy are actually recommended by organizations such as the CDC to be prescribed to patients before utilizing pain medication options.
The pain that you experience is individual to you and can be complex. When working to alleviate that pain sometimes a variety of treatment options working together is needed. Here are a few reasons why pain medication may not always be the best option for your pain relief:
1.They can be addictive.
Opioids are known to be habit forming. They can cause you to have serious withdrawal symptoms and you can build up a tolerance to them over time. Prescription narcotics are one of leading causes of the opioid epidemic in our country. Your physician will ask you to sign an opioid agreement form upon prescription.
2.You can develop side effects.
Sometimes the side effects of the pain medications you are taking to alleviate your pain outweigh the good that they do and can even cause more damage in the long run. Common side effects of pain medications include: constipation, weight gain, and even organ damage. However, most drug free treatment options have little to no side effects.
3.They only treat the pain not the problem.
While your pain may be gone. The root of the issue is still there. You are simply masking your underlying problem. The better solution is to dive deeper with your doctor into finding the cause of your pain and finding a more long-term solution. If you don’t solve these root issues you won’t get better.
4.Evidence-based treatments are usually more effective.
When a patient is experiencing lower back or leg pain, it is usually caused by a wear and tear of the spine. Out-patient procedures are usually going to be more effective in treating the pain by correcting the spinal defects. These are better long-term options as well.
5.Pain medication can be ineffective for some pain sufferers.
Some people who choose to use pain medication for their chronic or acute pain report that despite using the medication, they still experience pain.
6.Interactions.
If you are taking pain medications you have to adjust the intake of other substances. This even includes your current medications. Your pain medications could react to other medications you are taking including anti-anxiety pills and muscle relaxers. Those who are on pain medication also must stop consuming all alcohol.
If you are experiencing pain and are ready to look into options to control it with a plan that involves treatment other than pain medication, give the Arthritis Relief Institute a call today. We can work with you to come up with a pain management treatment plan that will get you back to feeling like yourself in no time.
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