FIGHTING AGAINST THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC

No doubt you’ve heard repeatedly about the opioid epidemic sweeping the nation. Just a few short years ago, it would be unthinkable for presidential candidates to be debating the cause and possible policy to combat this kind of rampant abuse. Now the conversation is commonplace. It’s likely that you have been touched by opioid addiction, whether through a loved one or friends of friends. It’s truly a startling public health crisis. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with over 64,000 lethal drug overdoses in 2016. Opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with an estimated two thirds caused directly by opiates. According to the American Academy of Pain Medicine, pain is a significant public health problem that costs society at least $560-$635 billion annually, an amount equal to about $2,000.00 for everyone living in the U.S.*2. For the first time since the 1950’s, life expectancy in the US dropped for two consecutive years. The soaring deaths related to synthetic opioids are playing a tragic role in that. *3. Opioids are truly a complex subject to discuss, and those in the medical field have a particularly challenging task of fighting back.

So what can be done?

The blame for the emergence of the opioid epidemic falls on many shoulders, but there are those that are taking a stand against the rising tide. Comprehensive pain management physician specialists are needed now more than ever to take the reins in caring for these challenging patients, and fighting to ensure that they avoid becoming just another statistic. A major challenge is that many patients, as well as many physicians, don’t know what comprehensive pain management doctors even do!

Pain management has evolved significantly over the past decade, and a wave of technological and innovative advances are pushing the boundaries of what is possible to treat acute, and more critically, chronic pain. No longer is the field dominated by medicine management and the occasional steroid injection. Instead of a last resort, pain management is becoming an earlier step in typical treatment. Minimally invasive procedures and non-opioid adjunct medications have revolutionized the way pain is viewed and treated. Like most fields of medicine in the past quarter-century, pain has undergone a renaissance of sorts, and highly skilled physicians are entering the specialty and changing the game.

The titanic challenge of the opioid crisis requires a well-rounded and progressive approach. Skilled physicians such as Lindsey Job MD and Peter Fernandez MD of Restore Medical Partners in Venice and Sarasota, FL are working towards a paradigm shift in the field; shifting focus to targeted interventional therapies (x-ray guided injections, ablations, etc) and incorporating integrative medicine and physical therapy. Accurate diagnosis and treatment with guided procedures can allow patients to undergo physical therapy, setting them on a road to recovery, and most often, off of addictive opioid medications. With support from their medical teams, Physicians like these are helping to turn the tide in their communities, managing medications appropriately, catching pain early (before patients have become dependent on narcotic medications), and more importantly educating the public on their dangers.

Living with chronic pain can be a truly devastating experience for anyone. And the numbers certainly are scary. But there is a way forward; a responsible and effective way to practice pain management. The public need to know that there are options beyond dangerous opiates, and that you don’t have to live in pain due to fear of being treated with narcotic medications. Only with the correct approach can chronic pain, and the opioid epidemic with it, be contained and resolved. Only with the leadership of these innovative pain management mavericks can we combat this crisis head-on, and save the lives of thousands along the way.

 

Sources:

Rudd RA, Seth P, David F, Scholl L. Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2010–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1445–1452. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm655051e1

http://www.painmed.org/patientcenter/facts_on_pain.aspx

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/life-expectancy-in-the-u-s-is-falling-and-drug-overdose-deaths-are-soaring/

 

Watch ABC7 on Thursday, February 22nd at 7pm to see how Dr. Job and Restore Medical Partners are leading the charge in the fight against the opioid crisis.