Is Drug-Free Pain Management Month
U.S. who wage an ongoing battle with acute and chronic pain and are searching for instant relief. They often turn to prescription pain medications for treatment of headaches, including migraines, low back pain and/or general aches and pains. Pain is associated with a wide range of injury and disease, and is sometimes the disease itself. Some conditions may have pain and associated symptoms arising from a discrete cause, such as postoperative pain or pain associated with a malignancy, or may be conditions in which pain constitutes the primary problem, such as neuropathic pains or headaches. The effects of pain exact a tremendous cost on our country in health care costs, rehabilitation and lost worker productivity, as well as the emotional and financial burden it places on patients and their families, according to the AAPM. The costs of unrelieved pain can result in longer hospital stays, increased rates of rehospitaliza- tion, increased outpatient visits, and decreased ability to function fully leading to lost income and insurance coverage. As such, patient’s unrelieved chronic pain problems often result in an inability to work and maintain health insurance.
eptember, 2018 has been designated as Na- tional Drug-Free Pain Management Aware- ness Month: an opportunity to raise public awareness about the dangers of prescrip- tion and over the counter (OTC) pain medications. It is also an opportunity to educate consumers about drug-free options to safely and effectively relieve chronic pain. In 2016, the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention (CDC) documented over 42,000 individuals in the U.S. died from an opioid-related overdose, totaling more than 115 fatalities per day. Last year alone, the number of deaths associated with opiate painkillers increased by 27.7 percent. Also, over-the-counter pain relievers increase the risk of health complications when misused or taken in higher doses than what is recommended. Risks include ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, liver and kidney damage and increased risk of cardiovascu- lar events. Nearly 200,000 Americans who misuse OTCs wind up in the hospital each year. An Everyday Battle With Pain According to the American Academy of Pain Med- icine (AAPM), there are 100 million people in the
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