Chronic Pain Management: Opioids and Their Alternatives Essay

Massage is the motion of using friction and pressure to elevate both mental and physical health issues. Conventionally people use it to relax their body and mind but when used as complimentary therapy it has many other uses, these are improving blood and lymphatic circulation, improve tissue permeability, improve micro circulation, stretch muscles and tissue, reduce scar tissue, reduce stress, help you to relax and improve self-esteem.

The traditional Chinese treatment of acupuncture is an affective alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture is one of the most researched and documented alternative medicines around (Acupuncture). Although a vast majority of people believe Western medicine is the only cure to sickness, many people benefit from acupuncture everyday. Most people disregard the ancient art all together without giving it a chance because are scared of the needles it involves. Also, since no accurate scientific explanation of how and why it works has been found, people shy away from it. The healing powers of the body are taken to a whole different level with this alternative medicine.

Opioids are a class of drugs used to help an individual’s pain perception. They include prescriptive and nonprescriptive medications: morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and fentanyl. Heroin is also an opioid, but it is a classified Schedule 1 illegal drug.

"If we could sniff or swallow something that would, for five or six hours each day, abolish our solitude as individuals, atone us with our fellows in a glowing exaltation of affection and make life in all its aspects seem not only worth living, but divinely beautiful and significant, and if this heavenly, world-transfiguring drug were of such a kind that we could wake up next morning with a clear head and an undamaged constitution - then, it seems to me, all our problems (and not merely the one small problem of discovering a novel pleasure) would be wholly solved and earth would become paradise."

Pain is not inevitable and can be treated. To live a life hampered by pain when treatment is available, is to cheat one out of the full quality of life that is possible.

Opioids are classified as opium like compounds; some (ex. codeine and morphine) exist naturally in opium, which is a gummy substance derived from the seedpod of the opium poppy, indigenous to Southern Asia. Other opioids are of the synthetic category, such as methadone or fentanyl (opioidaddictionsource.com). Though the use of prescription opioids may be well intended, due to their effect on the brain chemistry, it is fairly common for one to become addicted to them; America is amidst a raging prescription opioid epidemic, in fact.

Until October 2014, it was illegal to dispose of opioids except to flush them down the toilet or transport them to a law enforcement agency. The DEA now allows disposal of unused or expired controlled substances at pharmacies and hospitals with special containers for safely storing the drugs. You can find these locations at http://www.DisposeMyMeds.org.

Opioids can be divided into three categories: Opiates, Semi-Synthetic Opioids, and Synthetic Opioids. Opiates are derived directly from opium poppies. They include drugs such as Morphine and Codeine. Semi-Synthetic Opioids are derived from Opiates. They include many prescription painkillers such as Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, and Oxymorphone. However, this category also includes the illegal street drug Heroin. The third category is Synthetic Opioids, which are not derived from opiates and include drugs such as Fentanyl, Buprenorphine, and Methadone.

Chronic pain describes pain that persists over long periods of time. It handicaps the normal lifestyle and quality of one’s life (http://www.asri.edu/neuro/brochure/pain1.htm).

The term Opioid is derived from the opium poppy. It is an annual herb that contains about eight capsules with different color flowers. The seeds are cut out from the stem and used for different purposes. Descriptions from the Egyptians shows the opium seeds to be used to prevent excessive crying while the Greeks used it for a sleep inducing substance. (Khademi, 2015, p.870) Opium is the starting material for an array of medications. It is synthesized and then is an opioid used for mainly the treatment of pain in anesthesia, cancer, acute pain, osteoarthritis, limb pain, sickle cell anemia, and more. (Khademi, 2015, p870)

Massage therapy can help with alleviating muscle tension, diminishing stress, and bringing to mind feelings of calmness, along with helping chronic fatigue syndrome, easing chronic constipation, and enhancing self image. It also manipulates the activity of the musculoskeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems in the body. Clinical studies have revealed that massage relieves chronic back pain more effectively than other treatments and most times it is more cost effective than other treatments ("University of Maryland Medical Center").

Acupuncture is an ancient form of Chinese healing. It has been in use for thousands of years. The practice is now popular in the United States and other western nations, but is considered alternative medicine. The main goal of acupuncture is to increase chi or life force energy within the body. Although the body is self-healing, the theory behind acupuncture is that if the body becomes overloaded with toxins or becomes stagnant, disease and illness develop. Acupuncture stimulates the pathways of the body and encourages energy to flow. This promotes healing.

Chronic pain is defined as a pain that doesn’t go away for a long time. The pain can last for weeks, more than 3 months, years, and might make someone feel hopeless. Chronic pain does not relief with regular pain medication. It is important to address chronic pain because is physically and psychologically stressful. Its persistent discomfort can lead to irritation and frustration with the person’s self and with other people. Pain affects not only mental health but interfere also with someone’s sleep pattern.

I'm pretty sure you know that massage can do a whole lot more than relieving pain and soothing sore muscles.

In this discussion, I will be looking at the different forms of pain and how this pain is caused within the body. The number of different types of drugs used to treat pain is forever expanding but I will examine the main types of painkiller, how they were discovered and how they work to relieve the symptoms of pain.