Americans Consume 80 Percent World’s Pain Pills: How to Treat Pain Without Drugs

A new federal report revealed that the majority of U.S. adults (more than 54 percent) had some type of musculoskeletal pain disorder such as back, joint or neck pain in 2012 (the latest year for which statistics are available). Congressional testimony from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) stated that Americans consume 80 percent of the pain pills in the world, and in a survey of more than 2,000 pain patients in the U.S., most said they were taking a dangerously addictive opioid pain medication. Research suggests, however, that these drugs work for only about three months, after which changes in your brain may lead to increased feelings of pain along with added emotional upset, including feelings of hopelessness and desperation. Many pain sufferers have tried virtually every treatment that conventional medicine has to offer — medications, injections, surgery and more — only to find that their pain hasn't gotten better and they may be struggling with treatment-induced side effects as well (one of the worst of which is opioid addiction). At that point (and for many far sooner), it's only natural that you would begin to seek other options, which brings many people to holistic, complementary or "alternative" health care options for relief.