Pain Medication vs Other Options
If you’re in pain, one of your immediate reactions may be to visit a doctor to get a prescription for painkillers, or perhaps even to self-medicate with over-the-counter pain medication. These drugs may be effective in dulling or relieving the pain, but it can potentially come with side effects, many of which have been well documented by scientists, doctors, and the media.
NSAIDs
If you decide to take over-the-counter medication, one of the most common types is known as NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
They are available without a prescription in many places, reduce pain, inflammation, and relieve headaches. However, this comes at a cost: regular and constant use is known to increase the risk of stroke and heart disease up to tenfold. It can also cause stomach ulcers and bleeding in the stomach lining with regular use.
Prescription painkillers also have their problems.
We have all heard about the risk of addiction to prescription pain medications, especially with those that fall under a category known as opioids.
Opioids are highly effective in relieving the pain of all types of severity, but it comes at the cost of a high risk of addiction. You may have heard of drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone, or hydrocodone, which are all opioids that are prescribed by doctors to relieve extreme pain but have also been known to cause deaths in the case of misuse. It goes without saying that abuse can be very likely, and its use must never be taken lightly.
Try Less Risky Options
Now learning about the risks of some commonly prescribed medications, it’s always a good idea to try less risky solutions with far fewer side effects. There are actually many effective therapies that do not push medications to resolve underlying medical issues.
At Progressive Rehabilitation Medicine, we try to relieve pain of all types with non-surgical methods. We believe in finding non-invasive solutions to treat upper and lower back pain, neck pain, knee pain, herniated discs, shoulder pain, and many other conditions.
We also offer trigger point injections, which helps to put an end to pain by treating the exact origin of the pain in the body directly with an injection. Our clinic also provides other treatments for pain such as decompression and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, both of which have great results in terms of providing relief effectively and quickly. In fact, many athletes are turning to the use of these exact therapies with astounding results.
Contact Us Today For Options
To learn more about these therapies or to learn about these results, contact us today at Progressive Rehabilitation Medicine, in Cedar Rapids.
Dr. Sunny Kim and his staff are one of the best pain management teams using only non-surgical and more natural approaches to healing.
Come see us at Progressive Rehabilitation Medicine to see what pain relief method works best for you.