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In this article, USA Today reports that the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention has introduced it's first ever formal guidelines for dispensing opiate painkillers - and it has one clear message - do not prescribe addictive drugs like Vicodin and OxyCotin to patients with chronic pain.
It has been found that the risks of these drugs outweigh the benefits for most people and that these guidelines are in place to curb the nation's deadly prescription painkiller epidemic. About 40 Americans die each day from overdosing on prescription painkillers and 1.9 million people abuse or are dependent on prescription opiates, according to the CDC.
"For the first time, the federal government is communicating clearly that the widespread practice of treating common pain conditions with long-term opioids is inappropriate," said Andrew Kolodny, Executive Director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing,. "The CDC is making it perfectly clear that medical practice needs to change because we’re harming pain patients and fueling a public health crisis."
What does this mean for massage therapists, chiropractors, and physical therapists?
Now is the time to educate! Share this news to your Facebook walls - make it a conversation topic among your friends, families, and clients. Our society is overmedicated and this is now formally recognized by the CDC. Instead, clients should avoid drugs and seek out complementary and alternative medicine and physical therapies to help with the management of pain.
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