When most people think about addicting drugs, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine come to mind. What people fail to recognize is that most of them pump highly addictive drugs into their systems every single day. These drugs are hidden behind the masks of trusted doctors and funded by the dirty hands of the government. In various fields of the health industry, the fastest fix is usually sought out; but, faster does not always mean better.
Narcotics, or more commonly referred to as pain killers or opioids, are very deadly. New York Times reporter, Barry Meier, authored a book that focuses on the dangers of prescription pain medication titled, “A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine’s Biggest Mistake” (Parker-Pope 2013). Within this publication he visited the lives of people who have had both good and bad experiences with pain killers, most being bad. He found that pain killers helped patients a great deal with pain, and the patients were very satisfied; however, when the prescription came to an end, the patients experienced severe side effects (Parker-Pope 2013). Some of these being addiction, lowered hormone production, tiredness, and several other side effects—including death (Parker-Pope 2013). In fact, the number of deaths from painkillers is rising every year. Even the over-the-counter pain killers that many people take such as Tylenonl (Acetaminophen) at the slightest appearance of pain are not good for the body. These types of drugs do relieve pain in a safer manner than opioids, but that does not mean that they are any “better.” When used for a long period of time and when used frequently, these medications can and most likely will lead to kidney diseases/problems and liver diseases/problems. And also an increased risk of a myocardial infarction (heart attack), cerebrovascular accident (stroke), or hypertension (high blood pressure).
Pain killers are very addictive and are a serious problem, but what is the solution? Natural medicine. There have been various studies done on those experiencing chronic pain that investigate different forms of natural medicine to relieve that pain rather than using drugs. Such examples of pain relief include heat and cold therapy (Rodriguez 2014), meditation (Brody 2017), and chiropractic care. Heat therapy is widely accepted throughout the medical community to work on its own, but it is typically paired with drug-use which is not a necessary step (Rodriguez 2014). Heat therapy works because the heat helps relax the muscles and makes the body less tense, which in turn eases pain. Cold therapy is also used to lower inflammation and swelling in an injury, which will lead to less pain being felt (Rodriguez 2014). As for meditation, a scientific study took place that worked with participants experiencing chronic pain. Each subject worked on mindful meditation for two and a half years, and the results were spectacular. At the end of the study, each subject reported feeling less pain, feelings less anxiety in general, and having more acceptance of the pain that remained without the use of pain killers (la Cour, Petersen 2015).
Finally, chiropractic care can ease pain in patients through spinal manipulation. When the spine is misaligned, or subluxated, the entire body is thrown off-course and several symptoms can arise such as: stomach aches, acne, sore joints, lethargy and a tight neck. Realigning the spine allows for those symptoms to ease or even dissipate entirely because when the spine is in line, the body functions more regularly than when it is not. This is a pain management and better quality of life method that I can support, as myself and my family have been under chiropractic care since birth. Instead of pairing natural methods with drug-use, natural methods need to be paired with natural methods.
Since there are these issues that are flooding the United States, the question has not been answered as to why. Why would something so deadly be given out so carelessly? The answer is easy—efficiency. Narcotics are a quick fix that can relieve symptoms almost instantaneously. Money may appear to be the drive behind medicine for some, but in reality, the foundation of the problem is trying to find the fastest solution for a problem. The human body is a fragile, spectacular biological masterpiece, yet daily we treat it like it is worth nothing. Humans need to put in the time to assure that the body that is inhabited is healthy and functioning to its highest potential, and this all begins with natural medicine. Natural medicine is scary for some because natural medicine is different than what people are used to. Change is very scary for people, but sometimes change is what is needed. Narcotics are not the only element to exist in the world that can lead to pain relief, there are proven natural remedies that may take time and focus but living a longer and healthier life is worth the time. Do something good for the body, do something good for the soul—do natural medicine, and remember, nothing good comes fast.
Young, Mixed, and Scholarly 