As the United States finds itself amid an opioid crisis, officially designated a “public health emergency,” more Americans are seeking relief from their chronic pain with methods outside of traditional medicine. Incredible advancements in medical knowledge and technology have occurred in the past century. There is little debate that modern medicine has dramatically improved the overall health and lifespan of people throughout the world, but in some areas, such as chronic pain, traditional methods have sought to treat the problem rather than solve it.
With over 100 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, an entire industry has evolved to treat their conditions. Medical practitioners often have difficulty determining the cause of a patient’s pain and, if they can identify the cause, have limited options to address the issue. The conventional approach to relieving patient suffering is to medicate them which has led the pharmaceutical industry to develop multiple opioid-based pain medications.
Opioids, presented initially as a safe and effective treatment for pain, has been shown to be highly addictive and deadly. Despite of these facts, the pharmaceutical industry has responded by developing increasingly stronger and more addictive drugs. The attention given to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. has led many Americans to seek a non-drug approach to treating their pain.
Many times, chronic pain involves issues with a body’s basic elements such as bones, joints, and tissue, whether from age or injury. As the body ages, muscles, spinal discs, facet joints and ligaments become less hydrated, weaker, and less able to withstand normal stresses. Trauma from an accident or fall can also cause unnatural stress leading to pain. Rather than treating the symptom, pain, chiropractic treatment focuses on the issue that is causing the pain. Opioids and pain medications may mask the pain, but the longer the injury is left untreated, the more adverse effect it will have on the patient.
Chiropractic treatment seeks to treat the issue directly by focusing on the spine and the central nervous system. The nervous system effects and controls the functions of every organ and tissue in the body. A misalignment or kink in the spine can cause a variety of symptoms including pain and even a lowered immune system.
Doctors of chiropractic enhance flexibility, muscle strength, and range of motion through hands-on techniques. Chiropractic solutions work on muscular, skeletal and nerve issues all over the entire body and can also outline a program of exercise designed to rehabilitate and strengthen specific muscle groups. The chiropractic adjustment directly addresses the mechanical components and often provides immediate relief of pain as well as restoring proper range of motion.
Doctors of chiropractic are uniquely positioned to treat individuals suffering from chronic pain without the use of prescription drugs and their possible side effects. Chiropractors are designated as physician-level providers in most states and have the same licenses and privileges to serve as a primary care doctor. The typical training for doctors of chiropractic includes four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education plus four to five years of study at an accredited chiropractic college. In addition to the hands-on nature of chiropractic, and their knowledge of complex adjusting techniques, Chiropractors are qualified to order tests and recommend other types of specialists if needed.
Traditional medicine has provided a pharmaceutical solution to the treatment of pain which not only does not address the cause of the pain, but creates many other issues that are equally, if not more, unacceptable. This concern is changing the public perception of opioids and prescription drugs and has led more Americans to search for medication-free treatment options to treat their pain symptoms.
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Chronic pain can have a range of causes, from an injury or illness to aging, but there may also be no clear cause. This ambiguity in causes can make chronic pain very hard to treat and can have negative impacts on the patient’s lifestyle. A study by the National Institutes of Health found one in ten Americans experienced pain every day for three months. Lower back pain is the most common form of frequent or chronic pain, affecting more than 26 million Americans between the ages of 20-64.
A Growing Epidemic
One can hardly pick up a newspaper these days without reading another story about the alarming rise in addiction to prescription pain killers, particularly opioids. Those stories are backed up by figures from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to their recent analysis, more than 30 million people worldwide are addicted to opioids, including some 2 million in the United States alone.
Addiction, however, is not the only problem with the use of these powerful pain killers. Many who take these drugs, although they don’t experience addiction, suffer other problems, ranging from hormonal imbalances to digestive problems, infertility, depressed immune response, liver toxicity, gastrointestinal bleeding and depression.
Increasingly, recognizing not only the dangers of addiction (among others) associated with these medications, an increasing number of Americans are seeking alternative approaches to chronic pain relief. Among the most effective is chiropractic therapy.
The Impact of Chiropractic Treatment on Pain Management
A host of recent studies have established definitively the positive impact of chiropractic care on the alleviation of pain. Those benefits extend to a wide variety of conditions, from shoulder pain to arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, back pain headaches and fibromyalgia. Essentially, the chiropractor’s manipulation of the spine and extremities promotes the body’s ability to heal itself, without the introduction of potentially dangerous medications, by combatting oxidative stress and promoting the repair of DNA at the cellular level.
Of these several studies, one from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society found chiropractic treatment so effective that they recommended physicians routinely recommend spinal manipulation for pain management. That study, and the several others which have reached similar conclusions, has prompted researchers to continue studying the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment for a wide range of conditions in which chronic pain is a principal symptom.
Although the alleviation of pain is a principal reason people increasingly seek out the services of competent chiropractors, it isn’t the only one. In addition to pain relief, chiropractic treatment provides additional benefits, including stress relief, improved posture, overall mood enhancement and better sleep.
Conclusion
The rash of addictions and overdoses related to prescription painkillers has induced an increasing number of people to find and utilize alternative therapies. Chiropractic therapy is chief among those which are relieving pain, improving mood, reducing stress and enhancing physical wellbeing without the use of these medications. If you are one of the millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain, you owe it to yourself to find a skilled chiropractor in your area today.
For many professionals in California, the busy day-to-day life of making a living can actually introduce them to various workplace hazards, especially for those working in the construction, service, or retail industries. When someone acts negligently or otherwise ignores established safety codes, dangers can crop up in virtually any situation, from moving and storing freight to cleaning out an industrial oven. If you were caught in an unfortunate workplace accident that left you with a serious injury, you might be thinking of filing for a workers’ compensation claim to help you obtain financial coverage for your necessary and medical expenses as you recuperate.
You can’t wait too long, however, as strict statutes of limitations are in place that can bar you from seeking any help or restitution after a certain amount of time.
According to California’s workers’ compensation statute of limitations as found within Labor Code Section 5400, you will have no claim to recover any compensation for most workplace injuries if they are not reported within 30 days of you becoming aware of the injury or illness. That’s just one month to notify your employer of your malady and that you would like to seek workers’ comp benefits. With such a small window of opportunity, you really can’t afford to hesitate and should take action immediately. The sooner your case is filed, the sooner you could start receiving restitution.
During any initial medical treatments for your injury, be sure to tell your doctor or physician that your ailments are workplace-related. This will establish early on that you believe your injury happened on-the-job, and the medical practitioner will know to bill your employer for any treatments.
Even if your injury seems to you like it was obviously caused by workplace negligence that was out of your control, your employer might see it differently. They and their insurance providers may conduct thorough investigations to try to save their own pocketbooks in the end. In some cases, if they can, they may try to pin the fault entirely on you and deny your claim outright.
The wise choice for any workplace injury claim in California is to proceed with a Walnut Creek workers’ compensation attorney from Brand Peters PC. The legal professionals at the firm understand that your case is time-sensitive and can get the wheels turning and fight for the maximum settlement possible on your behalf, all while you focus on rest and recuperation. Call today before any more time passes!
At Brand Peters PC, our founding attorney Jonathan M. Brand has been serving the Bay Area since 1989. After earning his J.D. (law degree) from John F. Kennedy Law School, he had the intention of strictly pursuing personal injury law; however, not long after he founded Brand Peters PC, he decided to expand his practice so he could also represent injured workers in their workers’ compensation cases. Since the firm’s inception, he has successfully handled thousands of workers’ comp and personal injury cases on behalf of his injured clients, and he has obtained millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements over his years in practice.
Attorney Brand is not only well-liked and well-respected in the legal and chiropractic communities, he recently authored an article in the July 2013 edition of Plaintiff, the magazine for Northern California plaintiffs’ attorneys. His article is entitled, “Making workers’ comp work for you and your client,” and it explains the “new rules of workers’ comp and how WC intersects with personal injury law.” This scholarly article reaches its target audience of plaintiff attorneys all throughout Northern California, and is intended to help them identify the various ways of making the workers’ compensation system work for them as much as possible when personal injury and workers’ compensation “cross-over.”
Attorney Brand explains how the reality is that in many serious personal injury cases, workers’ compensation is a part of the process; therefore, it is his contention that by taking the time to understand workers’ compensation a bit more, personal injury attorneys can learn how to make it work for them instead of against them. The article demonstrates how the focus is more on the nuts and bolts of workers’ compensation and how it affects a personal injury case. To read the complete article in the July 2013 edition of Plaintiff magazine, click here!
One search online and dozens of stories involving work-related injuries are right at your fingertips. Online, employees who have been through the most horrific ordeals share their horror stories. These accounts will make you cringe, make you squeamish, and mostly make you angry and frustrated at bosses and insurance companies across the nation.
One truck driver was injured twice on the job- and these injuries were sustained within a few weeks of one another. Unfortunately, he received little mercy from his company’s workers’ compensation doctor. The man was fired from his job- for not being able to do any heavy work after being injured and subsequently lost his home, car, belongings and family.
In statements released to the press, the victim shared that, “After we lost the apartment…I was evicted…I stayed in a men’s shelter…my knee has gotten far worse, and I am completely disabled, and suffer anxiety and depressive disorders due to two mental breakdowns from the stress and pain I am in.”
In another story, a worker at an auto supply company was wearing a sweatshirt when it caught on a 110 ton stamping press, her first day on the job. The press slammed down and crushed her arms, resulting in the amputation of both of her arms-from the elbow down. A legal battle then ensued, with the employee fighting with all of her might to receive the damages she deserved.
How can you avoid having a work injury horror story like these to share and how can you ensure that your company has protections in place for its workers?
Workers’ compensation insurance is required by law in most states. If your employer does not have workers’ compensation, they can be held personally liable for your injuries or have to pay steep fines imposed by the state. If you have been injured on the job, contact a workers’ compensation attorney immediately to receive the legal assistance you need. Fight back today to reclaim your health and happiness!
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