Opioids are neither the best nor only way to treat chronic pain
Use behavioral medicine methods for long-term healing
Movement, nutrition, physical therapy - these are the sorts of long-term restorative practices that are low-risk and promote your body’s natural ability to heal itself.
Treatments With Positive Evidence
Physical Therapies
This includes massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, physical therapy. While the results of these therapies vary person to person, each one has some level of merit, and most are covered by insurance. We recommend combining a physical therapy with other types of treatment in order to get the most out of it.
Movement
This includes physical exercises ranging from yoga and tai chi to breathing exercises to pilates. Movement is considered the most effective lowest-risk approach to chronic pain. Not only can this provide relief from pain, it can also reduce the risk of other chronic issues such as heart disease and diabetes. Out of all the rest, this is the one with the most evidence to support it.
Treatments With Emerging Evidence
Marijuana
Research on marijuana’s affect on chronic pain is sparse. There are many factors to consider when using marijuana for chronic pain. For example, one study in Canada showed that THC/CBD is mislabeled by more than 15% on 9 out of every 10 products sold containing marijuana. Our recommendation is to speak with your physician about what treatment is best for you.
Behavioral Therapies
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) addresses the pain center in your brain. By processing pain differently and changing your mindset, studies have shown significant reduction in symptoms and higher quality of life overall. This is the only risk-free option available, but is less often covered by insurance.
Nutrition
While there is little research that chronic pain is improved by eating foods that reduce inflammation, and avoiding foods that cause inflammation, the anecdotal evidence is growing. This is a low-risk, but sometimes expensive approach that can come with a learning curve for preparing anti-inflammatory foods.
Regenerative Medicine
Series of injections of stem cells have been shown to improve chronic pain. This is expensive and often not covered by insurance, and comes with no guarantees. Our recommendation is to speak with your physician about what treatment is best for you.
Electrotherapy
A battery-powered device supplies a small electrical current to areas of the body in pain. The most common devices are transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units. Our recommendation is to speak with your physician about what treatment is best for you.
Treatments We Do Not Recommend
Opioids
Opioids are a common form of treatment for chronic pain that ultimately wear down the user’s ability to manage pain without them. Long-term users of opioids also run the risk of overdose. If you are currently using opioids for chronic pain and are ready to find another form of treatment, talk to your doctor about tapering slowly off opioids, and exploring other forms of treatment.
Illegal Substances
Illegal substances the highest-risk approach that anyone can take in the treatment of chronic pain. Illegal substances are unregulated, which means their potency is inconsistent (which leads to the risk of overdose) and they can contain traces of toxic materials and poison the user. If you or someone you know is using an illegal substance (this includes prescription medications that were not prescribed to them) to treat their chronic pain, please refer them to treatment.
If you or someone you know is using an illegal substance through injections, please refer them to treatment. If this person is also in need of sterile needles, please connect them with the local syringe exchange as soon as possible to reduce their risk of infection or overdose before accessing treatment.