September is Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month!

Theme for 2024: Choose Chiropractic for Drug-Free Care

In response to the ongoing opioid crisis and the alarming death rates both nationally and within Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society (MCS) is participating in the national Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month. This annual observance aims to build public awareness of safe and effective, non-pharmacological approaches, such as chiropractic care. The following statistics from the CDC highlight the urgent need for this public awareness campaign:

• Over 130 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed to American patients in 2022, equating to nearly one-third of the U.S. population receiving a prescription opioid.
• 1 in 4 patients receiving long-term opioid therapy in primary care struggles with opioid use disorder.
• From 1999 to 2022, nearly 310,000 people in the United States died from overdoses involving prescription opioids.

Chiropractic care offers a drug-free, evidence-based option for pain management that has been shown to yield improved clinical outcomes, reduced costs, and high levels of patient satisfaction.

MCS is spearheading a significant social media campaign during Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month to promote increased access to drug-free, safe, and cost-effective care. To support this effort, we have provided a range of resources, including a customizable press release, sample social media posts, and specially designed graphics.

Opioids – A National Crisis

The overuse, misuse, and abuse of prescription opioid painkillers have led to addiction and devastating outcomes, becoming both a statewide and national crisis. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 500,000 people died from an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2019. In 2022 alone, data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics showed nearly 107,700 drug overdose deaths in the United States. Opioids were involved in 81,607 of these deaths—accounting for 75.8% of all national drug overdose deaths. This equates to more than 223 deaths per day.

Research Confirms: More Chiropractic = Fewer Opioids

Studies have shown that access to drug-free chiropractic care as a first-line treatment significantly reduces the use of opioid prescriptions among patients with musculoskeletal pain. A recent study published in Pain Medicine, titled “Association Between Chiropractic Use and Opioid Receipt Among Patients with Spinal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” conducted by researchers at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, found that chiropractic users had 64% lower odds of receiving an opioid prescription compared to nonusers. The proportion of patients receiving opioid prescriptions was also notably lower for chiropractic users.

Another study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (Volume 24, Number 6, 2018, pp. 552–556) examined the link between chiropractic care for low back pain and the use of prescription opioids. Using a retrospective cohort design and analyzing data from the New Hampshire All-payer Claims Database, the study focused on patients aged 18-99 years who had at least two office visits for low back pain within 90 days. Patients with cancer were excluded from the analysis. The study found that the likelihood of filling a prescription for an opioid was 55% lower among chiropractic patients compared to non-patients. Additionally, average per-person charges for clinical services and prescription opioids were significantly lower for those receiving chiropractic care.