With about 2 million Americans suffering from opioid addiction, the nation’s healthcare system has tried to perform an extraordinary balancing act – help patients who suffer from chronic pain while also aggressively combating the opioid epidemic.
Given the number of Americans suffering from chronic non-cancer pain is estimated to be around 50 million (according to the CDC), finding alternative methods to treat the causes and manage chronic pain is a real concern in the nation's healthcare system.
Our conversation on the subject of chronic pain management is with Dr. Bradford Butler, author of the book The Blueprint for Back Pain Relief: The Essential Guide to Nonsurgical Solutions. Dr Butler is also the owner and Director of Oakland Spine and Physical Therapy. He says, "Opioids block the syptoms, but not the causes of pain. They fail to address the underlying issues that cause so many people to suffer so much." In this talk, Dr. Butler discusses the crisis in our healthcare system as it relates to pain management and offers alternative solutions to dealing with chronic pain.
