While opioid drugs have their own place in pain management, there are safer and more effective solutions to relieve pain. Deaths caused by opioids have quadrupled since 1999, and more than 27,000 people alone have died from overdoses of opioid drugs in 2017. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, one-fourth of patients receiving long-term prescription opioids for non-cancer pain relief in primary care situations cope with addiction issues. Over a thousand patients need Emergency Room treatment every day for prescription opioid abuse. Hence, the utilization of non-pharmacological pain management can prevent unnecessary opioid use.
