Non-Narcotic Pain Management Options

non-narcotic-pain-managment-options

05 Mar Non-Narcotic Pain Management Options

Millions of Americans suffer from chronic illnesses that interfere with day-to-day tasks. At Mile High Spine & Pain Center, they will look for the root cause of your pain and manage it from there. Without the use of narcotics, they use treatments like massage, electrical therapy, and other options to relieve your pain – all without the risk of scary side effects like the medications can come with. If you’re suffering from pain, don’t rely on narcotics for relief. Try some of these non-narcotic options instead!

Defining Chronic Pain

Any injury to the spine, skin, or nerves can lead to a patient developing chronic pain. Chronic pain is pain that can last for weeks or even years. Though sometimes there’s an underlying cause like arthritis, in most cases there is no clear cause. Though chronic pain isn’t always curable, there are treatments that can provide tremendous relief that aren’t narcotics. Common causes of chronic pain are:

  • Never damage/neuropathy that is caused by injury or diabetes
  • Spinal injury
  • Pinched nerves
  • Degeneration
  • Genetic problems such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and scoliosis
  • Car accidents
  • Sports injuries

What are Narcotics?

Narcotics, also known as opioids, refer to a variety of substances that dull senses and relieve pain, according to the DEA. Though some people call all drugs narcotic, that’s not the case. The DEA explains that today the term “narcotic” refers to opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic substitutes. Examples of narcotics used today are pharmaceutical drugs like:

  • OxyContin
  • Vicodin
  • Codeine
  • Morphine
  • Methadone
  • Fentanyl

In addition to the pharmaceutical drugs mentioned above, illicit drug heroin is also an opioid.

Risk of Opioids

Though opioids can relieve pain that other medications haven’t, they can also provide a greater risk. It’s easier to misuse narcotics, which is why they shouldn’t be used as a first line of attack when trying to defeat chronic pain.

The National Health Association provides the following statistics to show how easily they can be misused saying that up to 29% of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, and up to 12% of people develop an opioid use disorder.

Opioids are the most common approach to treating pain, however the risks can far outweigh the benefits. Not only can these options be addictive, but they can also make a person incoherent and unable to do daily things like drive and go to work.

These drugs also merely cover up the symptoms, but don’t do anything for the root cause of the problem. By finding the nerve causing the pain, the food allergy, or other factor that could be causing your pain, you will only treat the symptoms for the rest of your life. Mile High Spine thinks it’s more important to try to put an end to your problem rather than only trying to mask the symptoms.

Rather than facing the dangers of opioids, the National Institutes of Health is trying to help put an end to the opioid crisis by encouraging better ways to manage and treat pain with non-narcotic options. Their goals are to:

  • Find safe, effective, non-addictive ways to manage chronic pain
  • Use new medication and technologies to treat opioid disorders
  • Improve overdose prevention and reversal interventions to help people recover and save lives

Non-narcotic Pain Relief Options 

Mile High Spine & Pain Center prioritizes providing non-narcotic pain relief. When pain is causing your chronic condition, they’ll provide you with a comprehensive treatment pain. This will combine multiple forms of therapy and suggested lifestyle changes. Weekly, or even just monthly, treatments can lead you to being pain free – without having to deal with the addictive, risky side effects of narcotics.

The Mile High Spine team is made up of a team that can provide a variety of services, from a neurologist to a chiropractor, they have it all. One visit to one of their locations can help you rule out what’s not causing your pain and narrow it down to only a few possibilities, which makes finding the source of your pain that much easier.

The treatments provided can help you reduce for fully eliminate your chronic pain and will make doing daily tasks like cooking, cleaning, bathing, and driving much easier. The top pain relieving options provided at the Broomfield office are:

  • Chiropractic treatments
  • Allergy testing
  • Spinal adjustments
  • Lifestyle improvements
  • Massage

When using some of these – or all of them – together, patients can lower pain levels and get sense of healthiness again. Why wait?

Make an Appointment & Learn About Non-Narcotic Options

Rather than turning to narcotics or surgery, head to Mile High Spine and Pain Center to try a non-invasive, non-narcotic treatment plan to get you on the road to living a chronic pain-free life. Make an appointment now for a FREE consultation by calling (720)-507-0080.



Mile High Spine & Pain Center