Theme for 2024: Choose Chiropractic for Drug-Free Care

In response to the ongoing prescription opioid crisis and alarming death rate both nationally and in our state, the Michigan Association of Chiropractors is once again participating in national Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month, an annual observance to build public awareness of safe and effective, nonpharmacological approaches, such as chiropractic care. These alarming statistics from the CDC show the need for such a public awareness campaign:

• More than 130 million opioid prescriptions were dispensed to American patients in 2022, which translates to 1/3 of the U.S. population receiving a prescription opioid.
• 1 in 4 patients receiving long-term opioid therapy in a primary care setting struggles with opioid use disorder.
• From 1999-2022, nearly 310,000 people died from overdoses involving prescription opioids in the United States.

Chiropractic care is a drug-free, evidence-based and primary care option for pain management that yields improved clinical outcomes, reduced costs and high levels of patient satisfaction.

The MAC is promoting a major social media push around Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month and increased accessibility to drug-free, safe, effective – and cost-effective – care. . Use the tools below to promote this important public relations observance. Available resources include a customizable press release, sample social media posts, and specially designed graphics. 

The MAC has requested a proclamation from Governor Whitmer regarding Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month, but as of press time, it has not been issued. As soon as it is, we will update the membership and the press release, social media posts, and other resources below. In the meantime, the graphics below can be used to promote Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month on your social media. Stay tuned!

Sample Press Release – COMING SOON

Sample Social Media Posts – COMING SOON

2024 Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month Proclamation – COMING SOON

Proclamation (pdf) – COMING SOON

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To Download: Click on the desired image to expand the size. Then right-click and choose “Save image as…”

Opioids – A National Catastrophe

The overuse, misuse, and abuse of prescription opioid painkillers leading to addiction and catastrophic outcomes has become a statewide and national crisis. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 500,000 people died from an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2019. Data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics show that nearly 107,700 drug overdose deaths in the United States during 2022. Opioids are driving this overdose epidemic, as they were involved in 81,607 overdose deaths in 2022 – 75.8% of all national drug overdose deaths, according to provisional data released by the federal government. That’s more than 223 deaths per day!

Michigan Hit Hard

The state of Michigan has been hit particularly hard by this health care crisis. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has reported that in 2020 the state totaled 2,738 drug overdose deaths. Of these deaths, 2,171 were opioid-related, representing a 23% increase in opioid-related overdose deaths from 2019, according to MDHHS. By 2022, the number of opioid-related overdose deaths rose to 2,418 – more than 6.5 per day – according to provisional data from the CDC.

The challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic, such as increased social isolation and decreased access to treatment services, have only exacerbated this deadly drug overdose epidemic. In 2020, approximately 2,738 Michiganders died from drug overdose. In 2021, that number rose to 2,920. In 2022, it was 2,997. More Michigan data on Michigan overdose deaths can be found here.

What’s behind these numbers? A major factor is prescription opioids. In 2020, Michigan health care providers wrote 54.4 opioid prescriptions for every 100 Michiganders, compared to the national average of 43.3 opioid prescriptions for every 100 Americans, according to the CDC.

Research Proves It: More Chiropractic = Fewer Opioids

Studies have quantitatively shown that access to drug-free chiropractic care as a front-line treatment ahead of opioid medication dramatically decreases the use of opioid prescriptions among musculoskeletal pain patients. A recent study published in Pain Medicine, “Association Between Chiropractic Use and Opioid Receipt Among Patients with Spinal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” conducted by researchers at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics, reveals that chiropractic users had 64% lower odds of receiving an opioid prescription than nonusers and that the proportion of patients receiving an opioid prescription was lower for chiropractic users.

Another recent study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (Volume 24, Number 6, 2018, pp. 552–556) quantified the association between utilization of chiropractic services for low back pain and the use of prescription opioids. The study authors employed a retrospective cohort design for analysis of the New Hampshire All-payer Claims Database. The study population was comprised of patients aged 18-99 years with office visits for low back pain at least twice within 90 days. Subjects diagnosed with cancer were excluded from the cohort. The authors found that the adjusted likelihood of filling a prescription for an opioid was 55% lower among chiropractic recipients as compared to non-recipients. Average per-person charges for clinical services for low back pain and for prescription opioids were also significantly lower for recipients of chiropractic services.

Additional Resources – F4CP eBook: Chiropractic Care: An Effective, Drug-Free, First-Line Approach To Pain

In 2020, to commemorate National Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) released an eBook, Chiropractic Care: An Effective, Drug-Free, First-Line Approach To Pain. The eBook is available here .

The eBook is an evidence-based overview for a variety of healthcare professionals from medical doctors to nurses, to learn more about chiropractic care and to draw attention to the numerous materials available on the F4CP website, such as infographics, tip sheets, presentations, articles, and research compiled from medical and scientific publications.

The eBook opens by describing how opioids continue to be prescribed although they are often an ineffective and hazardous solution to the pain management challenges facing the U.S. amidst this crisis, chiropractic care is emerging as a patient-preferred, evidence-based, first-line care approach across the globe.

After describing chiropractic care and its benefits, the eBook details some of the recently published evidence supporting the practice and how clinical guidelines have been updated to recommend the care as a first-line pain management option. Increasingly, the book points out, chiropractors are being included as members of collaborative, multidisciplinary care teams.

Source: Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, www.f4cp.com

MAC Celebrates October as Spinal Health Care Month! Are You Ready?

Don’t Wait Until October – Start Preparing TODAY!

The MAC has also requested a proclamation from Governor Whitmer declaring October to be Spinal Health Care Month in Michigan! Spinal Health Care Month is an annual statewide observance stressing the proper function of the nervous system and the correct alignment of the spine.

MAC Members: Get Involved!

As we move closer to October, the MAC will be providing members with resources they can use to promote spinal health in their communities, including a customizable press release for local media, social media posts, and more! Position your office as the go-to authority in your community for Spinal Health Care Month! Stay tuned!