SEPTEMBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 35
CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS
DRUG-FREE PAIN MANAGEMENT
Chiropractic adjustment is a less dangerous alternative to addictive painkillers. (Getty Images)
By MICHELLE GABRIELLE CENTAMORE
For several years, Shelley of Floral
Park suffered from debilitating
chronic back pain, resulting in
missed work, difficulty with everyday
tasks like grocery shopping,
and an inability to enjoy favorite
activities such as bike riding.
Four years ago, everything changed.
Shelley made the choice to address
her pain through noninvasive, drugfree
chiropractic treatments. She felt
relief in only a couple of weeks.
“My back pain is very manageable
because I keep regular visits,” says
Shelley, who asked that her last name
not be used. “I have many days that I
am pain free and movement is very
easy. Drug-free management means,
to me, that I am not using a Band-Aid,
or relying on medications that provide
relief, but do not address, nor
fix, the underlying issue. And that is
truly important to me.”
New York State lawmakers who
recently designated September
as Drug-Free Pain Management
Month hope that if more people
follow Shelley’s lead, there will
be fewer fatal overdoses due to
the national opioid crisis, which
is largely fueled by prescription
painkillers.
“You have millions of Americans —
millions of people all over the world
— that suffer from chronic neck
and back pain…migraines, too,”
says state Assemblyman Andrew
Raia (R-East Northport). “It’s very
important that we spread the word
that there are alternatives to treating
chronic pain. Unfortunately, in
Suffolk County, we have an ominous
distinction — that is leading New
York State with opioid deaths. Now,
that was in 2016; fortunately, every
year those numbers are going down
a little bit.”
Raia announced the designation,
which is led by the Foundation for
Chiropractic Progress, during a
news conference at Levitan Chiropractic
at the Pagoda Wellness
Center in East Northport, where he
was joined by state Assemblyman
John Mikulin (R-Bethpage), Dr.
Mark Levitan, other practitioners
at Pagoda Acupuncture and Wellness
Center, and members of the
community.
“There are just so many people
suffering from this,” says Mikulin,
noting that Nassau County has also
been impacted by the epidemic.
“We’ve had success, but it’s very
important that we have awareness
and it’s important there are alternatives
to opioids.”
As a member of the Foundation for
Chiropractic Progress, Dr. Levitan
believes spearheading this national
effort on a local level is critical.
“We need to get out to the people
THE
OPIOID
CRISIS
not just awareness of the problem,
but awareness of the solution,” he
says.
Opioids were originally intended
for cancer pain, post-surgical pain,
and for use over a limited period of
time, Dr. Levitan explains.
“What changed was that it became
too readily available and too profitable
for pharmaceutical manufacturers,”
he says. Citing recent
court settlements in excess of $10
billion involving pharmaceutical
companies Johnson & Johnson and
Purdue Pharma, Dr. Levitan adds,
“They misled the public in terms of
the actual true addictiveness of the
agents.”
He says that doctors also need to
adhere to guidelines set by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control, Food
and Drug Administration, and other
organizations that say, “the first
line of attack for chronic pain is
supposed to be nonpharmacologic
alternatives.”
“Chiropractic is the most widely
researched and documented and
has the highest patient favorability
of all alternatives,” says Dr. Levitan.
“It’s the largest nondrug, nonsurgical
healing art in the world.”
Adjusting the spine normalizes the
body’s inherent capability to heal
and maintain homeostasis and normal
balance, explains Dr. Levitan.
“When everything is functioning
properly, pain manages to go away,”
he says.
Raia adds that there’s no time to
waste in raising awareness of drugfree
alternatives to pain.
“The truth of the matter is four out of
five people that are addicted to heroin
started with prescription drugs,” says
Raia. “Here, we recognize acupuncture,
massage therapy, chiropractic
care. These are all the things that are
very successful in treating chronic
pain. People have a choice.”
PRESS HEALTH
“Chiropractic is the most widely researched
and documented and has the highest patient
favorability of all alternatives,” says Dr. Mark Levitan.
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