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How Acupuncture Can Replace Opioids

Writer's picture: Dr. Stephanie Bartolotti Dr. Stephanie Bartolotti

In the midst of the opioid crisis, there couldn’t be a better time to get acupuncture. With nearly 100 deaths from opioids per day, (a number that is estimated to significantly and continuously increase), there is a very serious need for safe and alternative treatments for pain (Blau, 2017). The Joint Commission, which gives accreditation to about 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, recently revised its standards for pain management to include non-pharmacological modalities, including acupuncture! This means that acupuncture will soon be available as a safe method of treating pain in hospitals around the country.


By increasing the availability of acupuncture as a treatment option in hospitals, many more patients will be able to decrease their pain in a safe and effective way. A study conducted at Nellis Family Medicine Residency in the Mike O'Callaghan Military Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, showed that patients receiving acupuncture had a 45% decrease in opioid prescriptions, 34% decrease in muscle relaxants, 42% decrease in NSAIDs and 14% decrease in benzodiazepines (Crawford et al., 2017).

As a practitioner helping many patients overcome chronic pain and opioid addictions, I am so happy that acupuncture will become more widespread in treating patients as a first line of defense! If you are suffering with pain or addiction, we can help you. Please call us today at 321-972-2940 to schedule your initial exam and find out more about how we can get you feeling like yourself again!

References:

Blau, M. (2017, June 27). STAT forecast: Opioids could kill nearly 500,000 Americans in the next decade. Retrieved from https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/27/opioid-deaths-forecast/

Crawford, P., Penzien, D. B., & Coeytaux, R. (2017). Reduction in Pain Medication Prescriptions and Self-Reported Outcomes Associated with Acupuncture in a Military Patient Population. Medical Acupuncture, 29(4), 229–231. http://doi.org/10.1089/acu.2017.1234

The Joint Commission Revised Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from http://www.nccaom.org/blog/2017/07/12/joint-commission-assessment/

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