Solving your pain the non-drug way

Excerpts from:

As Painkiller Addiction and Overdoses Continue to Rise, Pharmaceutical Companies Are Sued for

Inciting Epidemic

www.mercola.com

Story at-a-glance − Narcotic painkillers are a driving force in the rise of

substance abuse and lethal overdoses In 2012, 259 million prescriptions for opioids and other

narcotic painkillers were written in the US; 46 people die from opioid overdose each and every day

Alabama tops the list of painkiller prescriptions, with 143 prescriptions for every 100 people—three times the amount in Hawaii, the lowest prescribing state

Chicago and two California counties—Orange and Santa Clara—have filed a lawsuit against five drug companies that manufacture OxyContin, charging them with contributing to an epidemic of drug abuse

Santa Clara spends millions of dollars to treat overdoses and addiction in its public hospitals, and wants the drug makers to pay for these costs, as they purposefully downplayed the risks of their narcotic painkillers

Excerpts: Pain, regardless of cause, is among the most common of health

ailments. Unfortunately, Americans in particular are succumbing to drug addiction in record numbers as a result of short-sighted and financially-driven drug marketing.

More than 70 million prescriptions for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are written each year, and according to 2010 data,1 there were enough narcotic painkillers being prescribed in the US to medicate every single adult, around the clock, for a month.

By 2012, a whopping 259 million prescriptions for opioids and other narcotic painkillers were written in the US,2 which equates to 82.5 prescriptions for every 100 Americans. And those narcotics are responsible for 46 deaths each and every day...

Americans use the most opioids of any nation—twice the amount used by Canadians, who come in second place in terms of prescriptions.3 The problem has become noticeable enough that US officials now warn that narcotic painkillers are a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses.

Excerpts: As noted by CDC Director Tom Frieden,4 narcotic

painkillers are very dangerous medications: "Patients given just a single course may become addicted for life," he recently warned. I strongly recommend exhausting your options before resorting to a narcotic pain reliever, and I'll list a number of alternatives at the end of this article.

These drugs do have a place and it is a great benefit to have them as a resource, but it appears that they are clearly being abused by large numbers of people and the evidence suggests that it is likely the majority.

It's quite clear that these drugs are being overprescribed, and can easily lead you into addiction and other, more illicit drug use. I strongly suspect that the overreliance on them as a first line of defense for pain is a major part of this problem.

Santa Clara class suit In Santa Clara County (California), the death rate for opioid overdoses

has tripled in the last decade, and according to assistant County Counsel Danny Chou, this is all due to a "decades-long marketing plan" by drug companies "to create a market for these drugs that never should have existed" in the first place.

According to Chou, Santa Clara spends millions of dollars to treat overdoses and addiction in its public hospitals, and he wants the drug makers to pay for these costs—just like tobacco companies were forced to pay after being sued in the 1990s. The lawsuit accuses the drug companies of purposefully downplaying the risks of these drugs, and secretly funding front organizations, like the American Pain Foundation, to promote the use of painkillers. According to Chou:

"They're the ones who deceive the doctors about the risks and benefits of opioid drugs. And they also deceive patients who then demand these drugs from the doctors. Ultimately, I don't think that the problem could be resolved until doctors and patients get accurate information. You have to start at the source."

Note: Opioid – from opiate, or the property of opium which is to suppress or relieve pain.

Painkillers as root cause…

Over the past decade as many as 100,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses and millions have become addicted to the drugs, said Andrew Kolodny, MD, a New York psychiatrist and opioid addiction specialist who co-founded Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing.

'This is an out of control epidemic, not caused by a virus or a bacteria,' said Kolodny... 'This epidemic has been caused by a brilliant marketing campaign that dramatically changed the way physicians treat pain.'"

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain ReliefAs I stated at the beginning, I strongly recommend exhausting other

options before you resort to a narcotic pain reliever. The health risks associated with these drugs are great, and addiction is a very real concern. Below I list 19 non-drug alternatives for the treatment of pain. These options provide excellent pain relief without any of the health hazards that prescription (and even over-the-counter) painkillers carry. This list is in no way meant to represent the only approaches one can use. These are just some of the best strategies that I know of. If you are in pain, please try these first, before even thinking about prescription painkillers of any kind.

1. Eliminate or radically reduce most grains and sugars from your diet. Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels and decrease insulin and leptin resistance, which is one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief

2. Take high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat. My personal favorite is krill oil. Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work, they manipulate prostaglandins.)

3. Optimize your production of vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief4. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a drug-free approach

for pain management of all kinds. EFT borrows from the principles of acupuncture, in that it helps you balance out your subtle energy system. It helps resolve underlying, often subconscious, negative emotions that may be exacerbating your physical pain. By stimulating (tapping) well-established acupuncture points with your fingertips, you rebalance your energy system, which tends to dissipate pain.

5. K-Laser Class 4 Laser Therapy. If you suffer pain from an injury, arthritis, or other inflammation-based pain, I'd strongly encourage you to try out K-Laser therapy. It can be an excellent choice for many painful conditions, including acute injuries. By addressing the underlying cause of the pain, you will no longer need to rely on painkillers. K-Laser is a class 4 infrared laser therapy treatment that helps reduce pain, reduce inflammation, and enhance tissue healing—both in hard and soft tissues, including muscles, ligaments, or even bones.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain ReliefThe infrared wavelengths used in the K-Laser allow for

targeting specific areas of your body, and can penetrate deeply into the body to reach areas such as your spine and hip. For more information about this groundbreaking technology, and how it can help heal chronic pain, please listen to my previous interview with Dr. Harrington.

6. Chiropractic. Many studies have confirmed that chiropractic management is much safer and less expensive than allopathic medical treatments, especially when used for pain, such as low-back pain. Qualified chiropractic, osteopathic, and naturopathic physicians are reliable, as they have received extensive training in the management of musculoskeletal disorders during their course of graduate healthcare training, which lasts between four to six years. These health experts have comprehensive training in musculoskeletal management.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief7. Acupuncture can also effectively treat many kinds of pain.

Research has discovered a "clear and robust" effect of acupuncture in the treatment of back, neck, and shoulder pain, osteoarthritis, and headaches.

8. Physical and massage therapy has been shown to be as good as surgery for painful conditions such as torn cartilage and arthritis.

9. Astaxanthin is one of the most effective fat-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs. Higher doses are typically required and you may need 8 mg or more per day to achieve this benefit.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief10. Ginger: This herb has potent anti-inflammatory

activity and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.

11. Curcumin: In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility.16 A past study also found that a turmeric extract composed of curcuminoids blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the overproduction of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.17

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief12. Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or "Indian

frankincense," this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients. This is one of my personal favorites as I have seen it work well with many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

13. Bromelain: This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form but eating fresh pineapple, including some of the bromelain-rich stem, may also be helpful.

14. Cetyl myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a "joint lubricant" and an anti-inflammatory. I have used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief

15. Evening primrose, black currant, and borage oils: These contain the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is useful for treating arthritic pain.

16. Cayenne cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body's supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.

19 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief17. Medical cannabis has a long history as a natural analgesic.18 At

present, 20 US states have legalized cannabis for medical purposes. Its medicinal qualities are due to high amounts (about 10-20 percent) of cannabidiol (CBD), medicinal terpenes, and flavanoids. As discussed in this previous post, varieties of cannabis exist that are very low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the psychoactive component of marijuana that makes you feel "stoned"—and high in medicinal CBD. The Journal of Pain,19 a publication by the American Pain Society, has a long list of studies on the pain-relieving effects of cannabis.

18. Methods such as yoga, Foundation Training, massage, meditation, hot and cold packs, and other mind-body techniques can also result in astonishing pain relief without any drugs.

19. Grounding, or walking barefoot on the earth, may also provide a certain measure of pain relief by combating inflammation.

Barefoot Walking as one of the 19 Non-Drug Solutions

for Pain Relief

Grounding,

or walking barefoot on the earth,

also provide a certain measure of pain relief by combating inflammation.

Source: Solving Your Pain the Non-Drug Way

www.mercola.com

Sources and References:

1 Medpage Today February 19, 2012

2 Scientific American July 1, 2014

3 BMJ 2014;349:g4424

4 Forbes July 2, 2014

5 CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report July 4, 2014 / 63(26);563-568

6 Scientific American July 1, 2014

7 NPR.com July 1, 2014

8 Forbes July 2, 2014

9 New York Times July 1, 2014

10 Scientific American July 1, 2014

11 BMJ 2014;349:g4424

12 NPR July 2, 2014

13 Medpage Today April 3, 2011

14 Medpage Today April 3, 2011

15 Medpage Today February 19, 2012

16 Altern Med Rev. 2010 Dec;15(4):337-44.

17 Arthritis & Rheumatism, Volume 54, Issue 11, pages 3452–3464, November 2006

18 Journal of Pain April 2004: 5(3); S52

19 Journal of Pain, Cannabis studies