You Don’t Need To Rely On Pills When Your Pain Doesn’t Go Away

          You Don’t Need To Rely On Pills When Your Pain Doesn’t Go Away - What are the best alternative treatments for chronic back and neck pain if pain medication is out of the question?

Alternatives to medication for chronic pain exist. Research shows that, when they’re included in a comprehensive treatment plan, those techniques can be quite effective in lowering pain.

Together, these approaches to pain management often are referred to as integrative medicine.

Chronic pain is a common problem. According to the US National Institutes of Health, chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Chronic pain is the most common cause of disability in the US.

Traditionally, the first step in treating chronic pain has been medication, including strong painkillers such as opioids. But these drugs can be problematic. Not only are opioids powerful drugs, they can have serious side effects and pose a significant risk for addiction when used long term.

The problems associated with using opioids for pain relief make it crucial that other strategies be considered when managing chronic pain.

In some situations when medication wasn’t a good option, surgery was recommended as the next step. Fortunately, there now are a wide range of choices available beyond medication and surgery that have been shown to be useful in easing chronic pain.

One common form of integrative medicine that’s used frequently at the Mayo Clinic in the US is acupuncture. The technique involves inserting extremely thin needles through the skin at strategic points on your body to reduce pain.

How often you need this treatment depends in large part on the type and severity of your pain.

Massage therapy can help reduce pain, too. Several studies suggest massage can be effective as part of an overall strategy for managing chronic neck and back pain. Mayo Clinic has conducted more than a dozen clinical trials on massage and found it valuable for a wide variety of pain conditions. It now regularly offers massage therapy to patients.