Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC Offers Options to Opioids for Pain Relief

Opioids. Back Pain. Treatment Options. Chiropractic has a role in managing and easing pain that should not be overlooked. Primary care physicians do not feel much confidence treating musculoskeletal pain. (1) Family practitioners are the largest prescribers of opioids. (2) Meanwhile, who takes care of 40% of pain patients? Chiropractors! (1) Your La Grande chiropractor at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC sees many pain patients and relieves a good deal of La Grande back pain often exclusive of opioids.

STATISTICS ON OPIOIDS FOR PAIN

These statistics are founded on a large study of 478,981 recently diagnosed, “opiate-naïve” patients who start utilizing opiates for pain relief. (2)

• 40.4% of pain patients obtained opioid prescriptions for the first time within a year of pain but only 4% met the requirement for long-term use.
• Family practice doctors are the most usual first prescribers of opiates for pain whose risk of prescribing these early in the pain process is 24.4% while those patients then have a 2% risk of long-term, continued opiate use.  
• Patients who look for care from emergency medicine doctors (43.1%) or urgent care facility (40.8%) are most likely to be prescribed opiates early in their pain cycle.
• Patients diagnosed first by a pain management doctor or physical medicine and rehab provider have a higher risk of long-term opioid use by 6.7% and 3.4%, respectively.

Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC invites pain patients to seek La Grande chiropractic care first!

PHYSICIANS WHO TREAT PAIN

Primary care physicians (52%), pain physicians (2%), chiropractors (40%), acupuncturists (7%) treat chronic pain patients. Primary care physicians are the least likely physicians to feel confident treating musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain. (1) Chiropractors like yours at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC confidently use non-drug management and/or co-management with other providers for the pain relief and pain control for La Grande back pain patients.

CHIROPRACTIC’S PLACE IN PAIN CARE

Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC wonders why chiropractors aren’t more immediately thought of in the process for La Grande pain relief, particularly La Grande back pain relief. Chiropractic services intergrate spinal manipulation (one of the top recommended forms of care for back pain by the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians (3)), exercise, and nutrition. What prevents some medical doctors from considering nutrition? A recent article states the reason in its title: “Nutrition: Push For Doctors To Learn Nutrition: Many Graduate Without Training.” It also shares that patients believe their medical doctor understands nutrition. (4) And that is fine if healthcare professionals collaborated sharing their expertise, acknowledging that each has a role in the care of the pain patient and has the best welfare of the patient fundamentally. Chiropractors are well skilled in non-surgical and non-drug care of pain, back pain, and spine pain.

COORDINATING CARE

Recognizing that a healthcare provider’s profession effects his/her treatment recommendations, guidelines for La Grande back pain patient care are developed to try to utilize the expertise maximally. Interdisciplinary care challenges differences among professions and their recommendation standards so that a patient gets a consistent therapy message with up-to-date treatment guidelines. Activity messages do vary by profession though: nurses were more restrictive in their recommendations of activity; physicians were more consistent with guidelines; physiotherapists recommended much more activity but less work activity than physicians. (5) Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC works with other local La Grande healthcare providers for patient care, appreciating their expertise and contribution to La Grande back pain patients’ return to activities that they like to do.

CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC

Schedule a La Grande chiropractic appointment with Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC for interdisciplinary care of your pain. Your La Grande chiropractor is willing and able to work with fellow La Grande healthcare providers and to share with you options on managing your back pain beyond and/or alongside opioid drug care.