Canton Rep Publishes Article on Expanding Chiropractic in Medicare by Dr. McMichael

"Canton Mayor Thomas Bernabei has joined other leaders around the country in proclaiming September as Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month, and a new bipartisan bill introduced to Congress signals a change in pain management that could help accelerate an end to our national opioid epidemic.

While state and local governments pursue legal efforts to hold prescription opioid makers and distributors accountable for their role in fostering opioid addiction, communities continue to work hard to reverse the numbers of drug overdose deaths. Stark County has benefited from the collaborative efforts of Stark County Opiate Task Force members.

Our community has had some success at preventing deaths from opioid overdoses through more widespread use of Naloxone, increased opioid addiction treatment and education efforts. Between the years 2006 and 2012, there were 119,481,839 prescription pain pills flooding Stark County, enough for 45 pills per person per year. As of 2017, 191 million opioid prescriptions were still written in the U.S.; six times the number written in 1999. Pulling our community out of that hole will take a continued comprehensive effort.

Another important part of the solution recommended by modern pain treatment guidelines is the increased use of evidence-based, drug-free treatments to address painful conditions. Drug-free treatments like spinal manipulation, acupuncture and physiotherapies utilized first can prevent or reduce opioid reliance. Changing how we treat pain has the potential to not only reduce deaths, but also to prevent overdoses and addiction from starting."

Read more in the article about supporting changes in Medicare that could save lives and dollars.

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