This recent study comes from the US but it's not hard to see that similar results would apply to Canada as well. Just released a few days ago, the US government has found that substance abuse treatment for non-medical use of prescription pain relievers has increased 400% over 10 years.
That means that more and more people who are being prescribed pain-killers are abusing them and becoming hooked. Addiction to pain-relievers, has never been a hidden fact. In fact, dependency has long been recognized as one of the major side effects of these drugs.
The proportion of admissions for people age 12 and older increased from 2.2 percent in 1998 to 9.8 percent in 2008, and this rise was seen in all age, gender, race and ethnic groups, as well as in people of all education levels and in all regions of the country, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported.
"The non-medical use of prescription pain relievers is now the second most prevalent form of illicit drug use in the nation, and its tragic consequences are seen in substance abuse treatment centers and hospital emergency departments throughout our nation," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in an agency news release.
What bothers me the most about this finding is that over the years, there has been increasing evidence of the efficacy of other forms of therapy for pain relief. Statistics show that musculoskeletal pain (ie. Back Pain) is one of the most common reasons patients will visit a family/clinic doctor. With pain-killers/ muscle relaxants being commonly prescribed for these patients. Imagine, if just a portion of these doctors suggested Chiropractic for these patients? We could see a dramatic improvement in this statistic very quickly. But alas, it seems the onus remains with the patient. So the next time you're suffering from back or related muscle pain, why not visit your Commercial Drive Chiropractor in East Vancouver?
If you have any questions about what ails you, contact me here at COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN DC HERE!!!!
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