“Chronic pain affects the lives of 50 million US adults, which is roughly 20% of the US population. An article published by the Center for Disease Control in September of 2018 explains how chronic pain leads to an increase in diseases such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as well as opioid and other substance use disorders. Physical exercise is limited due to chronic pain which can lead to other illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes. People affected by chronic pain often feel a loss of control and perceive their overall health to be of lesser quality when compared to those who do not suffer from chronic pain.
Traditionally, patients and their physicians have tried to address pain and the associated anxiety and depression in many different ways:
- Topical treatments such as application of heat, ice and topical creams
-
Muscle-based treatments such as rest and strengthening which can improve functional status
-
Medications including anti-inflammatories, opioids and anti-depressants are routinely used
-
Relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and clinical hypnosis are often added to help reframe personal responses to pain and set functional goals
-
Manual therapies such as massage, PT, chiropractic care, and acupuncture play an important part in supportive care of chronic pain patients
Despite best efforts by patients and medical providers to address chronic pain, the incidence of chronic pain continues to increase, and unfortunately so do the associated complications, including drug abuse and overuse. Overdose deaths have doubled in the past decade with more than 70,000 US adults dying of drug overdose in 2017. Opioids were the second most commonly overdosed drug, and benzodiazepines took 5th place.
In the last few years, plant-based medicine such as homeopathy, aromatherapy, and CBD use have become more popular and mainstream. If there are safer plant-based alternatives for treating chronic pain and the associated anxiety and depression, it seems natural that we should look at these more closely.”
