Future MDs Unprepared to Manage Pain

Chronic pain affects 100 million Americans – that’s more than the number impacted by diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Most suffering from pain turn to their family doctors for help, but many leave the office with a prescription for painkillers in hand. Many physicians do not know how to help their patients manage or eliminate chronic pain, and this trend is going to continue for the future unless a radical change occurs. As it stands, most new physicians are learning little about how to treat pain, despite it being one of the most common, and most debilitating conditions around. Just 12 Hours of Pain Education in Six Years of Medical School - The study, which surveyed undergraduate medical schools in Europe, found that even when compulsory pain courses are in place, they represent just 0.2 percent. Most of the schools have no required courses on pain that all students must take. This means that 12 hours of pain study represents a best-case scenario; at 82 percent of medical schools without compulsory pain courses, the students may be receiving even less… or no pain training at all. Also there is no consistency in what topics are covered, and most of the schools included only classroom based teaching, with no practical or hands-on experience. The researchers called for a major overhaul to address the urgent public health need to adequately manage chronic pain. Pain Education in North American Medical Schools ‘Limited’ and ‘Fragmentary’ - Though the study took place in Europe, it echoes a similar trend in the US and Canada by a separate study published in The Journal of Pain. Most of the schools offered pain education as only a part of general education courses. Less than 4 percent of the schools had a required course in pain and many offered no dedicated courses at all. Even at those schools offering pain curriculum, the education amounted to less than five hours. Those researchers similarly concluded: “Significant gaps between recommended pain curricula and documented educational content were identified. In short, pain education [in US and Canadian medical schools] was limited and fragmentary. Innovative and integrated pain education in primary medical education is needed.” This is clearly out of sync with the needs of Americans. So many are suffering daily with pain that surveys show seven in 10 Americans believe pain research and management should be one of the medical community’s top priorities! Instead, it receives barely a passing mention. What Happens When Physicians Don’t Know How to Treat Pain? - MDs resort to the only treatment they know: prescription drugs. And now we’re facing another epidemic on top of chronic pain: prescription drug abuse. The latter has been called the fastest-growing drug problem in the US by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the number of deaths from opioid painkillers like hydrocodone and oxycodone rose nearly four-fold between 1999 and 2009. The overdoses now kill more people than cocaine and heroin combined. As USA Today recently reported, more US states are now taking action to try and stop this growing problem: • Alabama has instituted three new laws that give more medical personnel access to the state’s prescription monitoring program database, as well as tighten regulations on pain management clinics and making ‘doctor shopping’ to get multiple prescriptions punishable by jail time • Indiana instituted new oversight powers to the state attorney general on pain management clinics and is considering mandatory annual drug screening of people prescribed opioids • Kentucky now requires pain clinics to be licensed and mandates that physicians check electronic prescription records before writing opioid prescriptions • Washington state has set dosage limits for physicians who prescribe pain medications, and prescriptions over a certain amount must be approved by a pain specialist • New York has a requirement that physicians and pharmacists check the state’s drug-monitoring program database before prescribing opioids Prescription Painkillers Are Addictive and Often Deadly - Painkillers (opioids) like morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl are one of the most commonly abused drug classes. These drugs are not only addictive, they can lead to slowed breathing and death if too much is taken, and the risks are compounded if you add alcohol to the equation. Hydrocodone, a prescription opiate, is synthetic heroin. It's indistinguishable from any other heroin as far as your brain and body is concerned. So, if you're hooked on hydrocodone, you are in fact a good-old-fashioned heroin addict. Worse, pain-killing drugs like fentanyl are actually 100 times more potent than natural opioids like morphine, making the addictive potential and side effects associated with prescription drug use much higher. Americans consume 80 percent of the pain pills in the world, and once you start, they set off a cascade of reactions in your body that make it extremely difficult to stop. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and CNN's chief medical correspondent, reported: “ … after just a few months of taking the pills...The effectiveness wears off, and patients typically report getting only about 30% pain relief, compared with when they started. Even more concerning, a subgroup of these patients develop a condition known as hyperalgesia, an increased sensitivity to pain…all of this creates a situation where the person starts to take more and more pills. And even though they are no longer providing much pain relief, they can still diminish the body's drive to breathe. If you are awake you may not notice it, but if you fall asleep with too many of these pills in your system, you never wake up. Add alcohol, and the problem is exponentially worse...” Try Natural Options Before Considering Painkillers for Chronic Pain - At the top of this list should be an explanation of why dietary changes are so important for long-term pain relief. If you suffer from chronic pain, there’s a good chance your physician has neglected to tell you this: • Take a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 oil. • Reduce your intake of processed foods, they contain sugar, additives and omega-6 fats, which contribute to inflammation. • Reduce most grains and sugars (especially fructose) from your diet. • Optimize your vitamin D by getting regular appropriate sun exposure. • Chiropractic adjustments on patients with neck pain who used a chiropractor and/or exercise were more than twice as likely to be pain free in 12 weeks compared to those who took medication. • Massage releases endorphins, which help induce relaxation, relieve pain, and reduce levels of stress. • Acupuncture has a definite effect in reducing chronic pain - more so than standard pain treatment. • Icing a painful area for 15 minutes on and 30 minutes off can greatly reduce pain, inflammation and muscle spasms. • Nutritional Supplements that may include: Astaxanthin, Ginger, Curcumin, Boswellia, Bromelain, Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO), Evening Primrose, Black Currant, Borage Oils and Cayenne. *Ask the doctors at Beck -Thibodeau Chiropractor which pain relief options are best for you and your family. Source: mercola.com, 10/30/13, Dr. Dan Thibodeau.