Can Chiropractic Care Help Avoid Painkiller Addiction For Accident Patients
A chiropractor Rockville, MD patients recommend knows that for the past several years, the United States has been gripped by the opioid epidemic, with millions of Americans struggling – and often losing – their battle with addiction. Recently, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) announced that their studies show that although opioid prescriptions for noncancer pain are down by one-third since new federal regulations were enacted, the growth of non-opioid painkiller prescriptions has increased. This only trades one dangerous drug for another.
One major factor in prescription painkiller addiction is the person’s mental health. Multiple studies have shown a significant link between chronic pain and its impact on a person’s mental health.
Chiropractic care has been shown to provide effective pain management while also providing a positive boon to a patient’s mental health. For example, many triggers of depression – agitation, anxiety, high adrenalin, high cortisol, and insomnia – are all caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system, the very thing that is targeted in chiropractic treatments.
Car Accident Injuries and Painkillers
While any accident can result in injuries that leave a patient dealing with pain, one of the most common causes is car accidents. Even a minor crash can leave a person with serious injuries. The human body is just not made to endure the type of trauma that occurs when one vehicle slams into the other.
In some cases, a car accident victim may not even be aware right away that they have been injured. There can be a delay in symptoms or the victim can be in shock, with their adrenaline masking the pain, a common occurrence when we go into a “fight or flight” mode.
Some common symptoms include:
- Anxiety
- Back pain
- Body stiffness
- Chest pain
- Headaches
- Neck strains
One or more of these symptoms can indicate whiplash, herniated discs, soft tissue injuries, neck injuries, or even bone fragments in the spine.
How a Rockville Chiropractor Can Help
In traditional medicine, when a car accident victim goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with an injury, such as whiplash or a soft tissue injury, they are usually given painkillers for the pain and told to go home and rest the injury. Then they wait for the injury to heal, all the while suffering with pain and eating painkillers. This is often how the terrible cycle of addiction begins for many people – from medication their own physicians have prescribed for them.
There is no other real treatment the doctor will provide. But a chiropractor will look at what the root of the pain is coming from and come up with a treatment plan that will help accelerate the healing of those injured soft tissues, whiplash, or other injury, eventually eliminating the need for any dangerous medication while helping to get rid of that chronic pain.
Call Our Office
If you have been injured in a car accident and would like to find out how a Rockville chiropractor can help, call AmeriWell Clinics to schedule a consultation.