Big Pharma Smiling? Hydrocodone Most Prescribed Drug in America

Pain is a real problem for millions of people. It can affect quality of life and overall health. As a result, in the 1990s, the medical community urged doctors to begin to treat pain as a real and important part of health management.

However, while the thinking at the time was that use of narcotics for pain management was a good thing, it would not result in addiction problems for patients.

According to WebMD, “In 2011, Hydrocodone – a narcotic – was the most prescribed drug in America.”

Increased Awareness of Pain

In most medical offices today, doctors and health care providers regularly ask patients to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10. However, while doctors are more than willing to prescribe narcotic medications to patients, they rarely take the time to address the source of the pain and resolve the underlying health problems.

A more holistic approach includes a wide variety of health aspects. In addition to resolving pain, medical practitioners might consider attempting other pain relief solutions for the patients other than prescribing medication. For example, for many patients, gradually improving muscle strength through physical therapy and exercise is a better and healthier long term solution for many sports injuries.

And most recently, The American Pain Society has stated that alternative treatments like yoga, are more successful than painkillers.

Pain serves as a warning that something is wrong in the body. Rather than focusing their attention on a “quick fix,” doctors can serve their patients better by considering the source of the pain and what it means. If you can find a solution to what is causing the pain, then the patient is better off in the long term.

Do you suffer from chronic pain? What non-prescription solutions have you tried? What has helped? What has not helped?

 – The Alternative Daily

Source: http://www.unmc.edu/