The US authorities advised physicians to use acupuncture
Chiropractors and specialists in acupuncture received the support of the US Federal government: Office of the food and drug administration (FDA) has amended its instruction on the treatment of chronic pain. Now the administration recommends doctors to get information about manual therapy and acupuncture as methods of treatment that can help patients get rid of pain without opioid analgesics. It is reported STATNews.
“Physicians should be familiar with the various methods of therapy, when they can help and when they should be used in a multi-disciplinary approach to getting rid of the pain,” according to the document.
The text of the FDA recommendations is not final: till July 10, the Agency is accepting proposals from doctors, pharmaceutical companies and representatives of alternative medicine. These measures were adopted in the framework of the Federal strategy to combat the “epidemic” of painkillers. For example, in early 2017, the American College of physicians recommended that the first priority of treatment back pain acupuncture, yoga and manual therapy.
“The draft FDA looks like the next step in the fight against opioid problem. Approximately 20% of patients who are seen in medical offices in the United States with complaints of chronic pain, in the end, come out of there with a prescription for an opioid analgesic. From 2007 to 2012, the number of prescriptions increased by 7%. So in this sense the FDA can understand better the doctor put the needle and patients do massage than feed them oxycodone with hydromorphone that with chronic pain handle it roughly in any way, but the harm is much more”, — commented on the situation to Indicator.Ru physician-toxicologist, medical journalist Alexey Vodovozov.