Solving the Opioid Crisis...with chiropractic?

Over the past few years, our country has been fighting one of the most deadly epidemics in history: addiction to prescription pain medications. What’s more, thanks to a pharmaceutical industry that has billions of dollars to spend on lobbying and advertising…t's been an uphill battle.

In the United States alone, over 300 million prescriptions for pain relievers are filled each year.

Many of the people filling those medications started taking them due to back pain, and until recently, prescribing pills has been the standard of medical care for acute pain. That’s why we have so many people addicted to painkillers, and it’s estimated that 2% of the population will eventually become addicted to these prescription painkillers.

There is a better, safer way; a way to find relief without becoming addicted to these dangerous medications.

New research shows that when Chiropractic care is added to standard medical care, over 73% of people have significant improvement or complete relief! What’s more, when people focus on correcting the cause of the problem and experience relief naturally, they don’t need to keep taking that higher and higher dose of medication to reduce their pain.

That’s why many healthcare organizations are looking towards Chiropractic care as a tremendous ally in the fight against prescription medication abuse and addiction.

•  Medications are no longer recommended as a first-line treatment for back pain.
• Over 73% of people who added Chiropractic to their medical care found significant or complete relief from back pain.
• Adjustments can help you address the cause of the pain, not just mask the symptoms.

Science Source:

Adding Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy to Standard Medical Care for Patients With Acute Low Back Pain. SPINE Volume 38, Number 8, pp 627-634. @2013

Marketing Chiropractic with Research

So this is where research becomes a massive ally of ours. If our research sucked, it would be hard to market it! Fortunately,  we have great literature supporting what we do as chiropractors, and it comes out all the time. There is a backlog of terrific research. And if you've never reached out in the past, you may have ten years worth of content before you have to think about trying to find something new. 

But getting out there with it, marketing it, using it, is the critical step. Marketing through research gives you that monthly marketing touchpoint. And in marketing, consistency and focus are key.  If you start sending people 20-page research papers..you are punishing them. You are not helping them. Nobody has enough time to short through a long-form research paper. 

So if you're going to do the outreach, the onus is on you to frame it in a way that matters to them. 

That is why we use a straightforward process. One peer-reviewed piece of research, one time per month. At worst the other physician will see your name in a professional context, becoming a leader in education in your community. At best they're going to take action. Ultimately sending brief, concise, and impactful monthly research updates it's always going to be looked upon in a favorable light. It adds value to them.

Amazon Buys PillPack for $1 Billion Dollars

Amazon has made their big play into the healthcare space by purchasing Pillpack. Pillpack is an online pharmacy retailer operating in nearly all 50 states. 

So what is the play? Pillpack generates about 100 million dollars in revenue. But here is the rub. As soon as Amazon announced this acquisition, it shaved 13 billion dollars off of the pharmacy industry! CVS, Walgreens, and other pharmacies saw their stocks drop 10 percent or more. 

That's why it's a billion-dollar play. This is going to mean people have access to medications easier than ever before, with potentially the next day, same day, or even within the one-hour delivery. It is going to make the availability of these prescriptions much more convenient. That's Amazon's model- ease of use and getting products to consumers as quickly as possible. That ease of use is going to make things challenging in the conservative healthcare space. Now more than ever the public needs to understand that quite often; surgery, medications, and or injections are not the answer to their problem. For a majority of individuals  (as we've seen with the pill and the opioid crisis) the use of medications and drugs provide short-term gains with significant long-term repercussions. 

So Amazon has made their billion dollar play into the healthcare space, and it is all about the pharmacy for them. So it is all essential for us to stay diligent to get our message out there and to make sure we are communicating pro-actively with our patients in our community because their ease of getting medications just got a lot a lot easier. 
 

How Chiropractic Adjustments Can Help Foraminal Stenosis

If you have had pain going down your arm or leg due to a pinched nerve chiropractic may be one of the best things you can do to get well quickly. 

The discs are located between the bones, or vertebrae, in your spine. They act as spacers, allowing room for the nerve to travel out the holes, or foraminal canals. That is the place where the nerve can often get pinched, and when it's pinched, it hurts. Sometimes that pinching can happen due to a bone spur, due to the disc becoming degenerative and flattening out, or a ligament is constricting and compressing on that nerve. 

Chiropractic adjustments work by helping to open up those holes and take the pressure off of the nerve. The tunnels, or foraminal canals, are "opened" when a gentle adjustment is given, and proper motion to the vertebrae is restored. That takes the pressure off of the nerve, allows the pain to subside, and the function to increase. So if you have been suffering from a pinched nerve due to a bone spurs or ligament overgrowth; do not hesitate to reach out to your local chiropractor to see if chiropractic care may be the best solution to get you on track and feeling great as quickly as possible. 

Finding Relief from Tension Headaches

If you are someone who has suffered from tension headaches you're going to want to read up to some brand new research which showcases natural and conservative ways for you to find relief and improve your quality of life. 

Over 90% of all headaches are classified as tension-type headaches, and they impact millions upon millions of people worldwide. Quite often a combination of ergonomics, a long time commuting in the car,  long days at the computer, stress, and gravity contribute to tension headaches. And they can be truly debilitating. 

But brand new research from the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine showed a combination of chiropractic adjustments, and pressure points can improve your quality of life. This research paper was titled, "Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension headaches: a randomized controlled trial". A randomized controlled trial is the top tier of research. 

These researchers found that a combination of adjustments, or spinal manipulation, and pressure points right under the base of the skull provided dramatic improvement for people suffering from tension headaches. 

Previous research has showcased how chiropractic care adjustments can provide a decrease in pain associated with tension headaches, a decrease in frequency of those headaches, and a decrease in intensity when they come on. 

So, these are all things to consider when you are thinking about natural conservative ways to stay well and find relief from tension based headaches.