Painkillers have become a significant aspect of the medical community. Doctors will often prescribe painkillers for their patients, without ever taking the time to get to know their bodies on an individual level. Every patient’s back pain is not the same, yet an increasingly large number of physicians are treating them as such.
With some insight from the chiropractic team at http://backblog.co.uk we look at how we must look beyond painkillers and find what is causing your back pain in the first place.
Painkillers Only Mask the Pain, they do not Address the Root Problems
We must move past painkillers and begin to address the root causes of back pain, as opposed to relying on medications that merely mask the problem instead of treating it. Patients in the United Kingdom who are given painkillers for their back problems may feel a sense of relief in the short term, but this method of treatment does nothing to address the actual problems that they are facing.
Over Time Our Bodies Become Immune or Unreceptive to Painkillers
To make matters worse, the effectiveness of painkillers can start to wane after a certain period of time. The dosage that provides a patient with patient during the early stages may begin to lose its level of effectiveness. When this natural progression takes place, the patient can end up increasing their dosage and increase their level of reliance on painkillers.
The more painkillers a patient needs to feel a sense of relief, the more likely they are to develop an addiction to the medication or suffer some side-effects from it. While most patients are not pill seekers by nature, their desire to achieve lasting relief can outweigh their better judgement.
In some instances, their tolerance to the medication may even increase at a rate that far outstrips their doctor’s willingness to provide additional medication. When problems like these arise, a patient may even decide to take matters in their own hands and seek additional painkillers through dodgier methods. They may even begin to seek prescription medication on line or from friends or street dealers as a result.
Let’s be clear here – painkillers can help with back pain and can be an excellent solution to that pain, especially in the short-term. However, there’s a growing tendency to increase our reliance on painkillers on a long-term basis without trying to manage the problem in other ways. Most people want a simple solution to their back pain, which painkillers offer. However, most people would rather their back problem was dealt with, and their back injury was encouraged to heal, repair and recover rather than just masking those painful warning symptoms.
Painkillers can become Addictive
On top of these real world implications, the patient must also confront the fact that their true problems are not being properly addressed. Painkillers are essentially a temporary form of medication, they are handed out in an effort to placate a patient, as opposed to helping them with their true issue.
While painkillers can serve as a helpful tool in the short term, they should never be relied upon in the long term. They are to be used only in cases of extreme pain, not as a day to day survival technique.
Any reputable pain specialist that you visit that does not offer some form of physical treatment like physiotherapy/massage therapy/chiropractic/osteopathy/acupuncture to alleviate back pain is doing their patients a disservice.
Patients must never be encouraged to rely upon painkillers, as the best course of treatment will always diagnose the root cause of the back pain first. Otherwise, the patient is left to rely on painkillers exclusively, as opposed to diagnosing the actual back related issue and seeking a lasting cure.
By finding the root cause of back pain, the patient is given a whole new lease of life. Instead of having to learn how to live a life that is almost entirely dependent on the whims of prescription medication, patients who receive assistance with the root causes of their back pain can enjoy a healthy, happy and vibrant existence. Moving past painkillers and finding the root cause of back pain is mutually beneficial to all parties involved.
I believe that it’s incredibly important to move past the usage of painkillers and locate the root cause of a patient’s back pain. I’ve included my top ten tips to look after the root cause of your back pain – and none of them are painkillers. Be sure to contact us as soon as possible for more information on this matter.