Nearly $300 Billion a Year Spent on Chronic Pain Only Makes the Problem Worse
Ineffective treatments are killing people, turning them into addicts and leading to more pain and lower quality of life, according to Cindy Perlin.
ALBANY, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent study reported in the medical journal BMJ Open concluded that surgery for chronic pain conditions performed no better than a placebo. And as if that were not bad enough, other studies have established that chronic pain patients who take opioids (think OxyContin and Vicodin) have more pain, more disability and lower quality of life than patients who don't take opioids.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320017
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160107/320018
"Taken together," says author, pain treatment expert and chronic pain survivor Cindy Perlin, LCSW, "that means that most of the $300 billion spent annually for pain treatment in the U.S. is doing more harm than good."
According to Perlin, the biggest shame of all is that there are more effective treatments for pain that doctors aren't telling patients about and insurance companies will not pay for. With more than 116 million Americans suffering from chronic pain and an increasing number of people getting hooked on prescription painkillers and heroin, Perlin is a timely guest. She can talk about:
- Safer alternatives for treating pain including biofeedback, acupuncture, herbs, psychotherapy, massage, physical therapy, marijuana, and more.
- Her legislative proposal, the Pain Treatment Parity Act, and what it would do to help the situation.
- Why you could die from taking pain medication as directed, even Tylenol, aspirin and ibuprofen.
- How prescription pain killers took the lives of Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
- Her own story of developing chronic pain at 25 and ways following conventional treatment made her much worse. She'll share what finally worked for her after many years of suffering.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cindy Perlin is a licensed clinical social worker, certified biofeedback practitioner, chronic pain survivor and the author of The Truth About Chronic Pain Treatment: The Best and Worst Strategies for Becoming Pain Free. Perlin has been a guest on multiple TV and radio networks, among them PBS, SiriusXm, and RadioMD. Her op-ed pieces have been published in the Albany Times Union, and she has contributed columns to OpEdNews.com, PainNewsNetwork.org and NaturalNews.com. She has presented at Albany Medical College. More information can be found at www.cindyperlin.com.
AVAILABILITY: Albany, nationwide by arrangement and via telephone
CONTACT: Cindy Perlin, 518-439-6431;Email
SOURCE Cindy Perlin
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