chiropractic Archives - Dr. John Rosa

What Did The Opioid Epidemic Say To The Covid-19 Pandemic

By Dr. John Rosa

“Thanks, man, I was starting to lose traction, but you’re a great dis-traction and I’m killing it again!”

It’s not a joke and it certainly isn’t funny. But, unfortunately, it’s a fact. This has been my greatest concern since the pandemic took center stage back in February. As reported recently at Quartz (qz.com) by geopolitical reporter, Annalisa Merrelli, in an article entitled, Covid-19 is undoing a decade of progress on the opioid epidemic, “experts are worried the progress made so far on tackling the opioid crisis may be jeopardized.” https://qz.com/1889798/covid-19-is-making-the-opioid-crisis-much-worse/

The COVID-19 pandemic is without question the perfect storm that is allowing the opioid epidemic to spread freely again and take the lives of so many without even being noticed. The isolation, social distancing, uncertainties, and job losses, combined with decreasing support systems, are all well-known risk factors for increasing drug use. For people who have been in recovery, the pandemic provides the perfect excuse and environment in which to relapse.

Job Loss And Loss Of Insurance Coverage

Social distancing and isolation aren’t the only reasons that contribute to relapse. Consider the number of patients who find themselves suddenly without insurance who lost coverage through loss of work. It takes time to enroll in Medicaid, which results in loss of continuity of treatment, and ultimately increases the risk of relapse and overdose. And of course, the hardest hit areas economically are the rural and poorer communities where opioid abuse is always higher risk.

Opioid Addiction Research Comes To A Halt

In addition, losing ground in this effort is going to have long-term effects since much research has come to a halt because of the pandemic – especially clinical research. With so many COVID-19 patients to take care of hospitals simply don’t have sufficient to continue their work on opioid addiction research. And, where patients were being studied in prisons, doctors no longer have access due to prisons being closed to external visitors.

Fatal Overdoses Hard To Confirm Under COVID-19 Shadow

In the aforementioned Quartz article, it is stated that medical professionals around the country have seen increases in fatal overdoses. Though according to the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “it’s hard to quantify by how much, because not only does the official data lag behind incidents, but its collection relies on autopsies to confirm overdose as the cause of death. With coroners and pathologists overwhelmed by Covid-19, performing such checks has been impossible in many cases, which will likely result inaccurate data for 2020.” https://qz.com/1889798/covid-19-is-making-the-opioid-crisis-much-worse/

One Crisis Overshadowing Another Is No Joke

The daily deaths throughout the U.S. from COVID-19 is just under 1,000 – around 941. The pre-pandemic daily death toll from OUD (opioid use disorder) was 150. Clearly unimpressive from some perspectives. However, from the perspective of someone who has seen the damage inflicted on family members, colleagues and friends due to opioids, who are not included in the damage or death reports, I think that statistic could be much higher.

Losing a child, a husband, a father or wife, a sister, a mother, or a friend to opioid overdose causes irreparable damage and heartache to those left behind. Some of those loved ones feel like they should have or could have done something to prevent the death. In the case of COVID-19, the killer is an invisible virus. No one knows where it is, who is potentially carrying it. In other words, there’s little notion of having a sense of control involved. Short of following safety protocols that include wearing a mask, staying safely socially distanced and washing hands there’s really nothing much one can do.

The thought that one might have been able to prevent a loved one’s death to drug overdose is equally out of anyone’s control except the person who is addicted. Addiction is as unpredictable as COVID-19 and deaths from both are equally tragic.

I find it even more tragic how the appearance of one crisis can so quickly decimate the progress that’s been so hard-won on another crisis. I have faith though that despite all appearances there will be positive outcomes learned from both of these diseases wreaking havoc on our country and the world at large.

National Opioid Crisis Expert, Dynamic Speaker And Author, Dr. John Rosa Writes About A Effective, Pill-Free Method To Manage Lower Back Pain

Dr. John P. Rosa, opioid crisis expert, author and dynamic speaker shares how Chiropractic changed his integrative medical practice by allowing him to offer a drug-free and effective alternative to pain management.

ROCKVILLE, MD. February 3, 2020: Owner of Accessible Beltway Clinics and opioid crises expert, Dr. John Rosa, posted a new blog on his website entitled, “A Highly Accessible Method Effective In Managing Lower Back Pain Without Opioids,” in which Dr. Rosa reveals how the root of chronic lower back pain is missed by many doctors.

Referring back to the title of his blog, Dr. Rosa writes, “I am referring to chiropractic care.” He continues elaborating, “Chiropractic is a drug-free approach to pain relief and pain management. The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends the use of non-invasive, drug-free treatments such as Chiropractic care, first for chronic and acute lower back pain. Additionally, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) encourages patients to seek conservative care, like drug-free chiropractic, before moving on to potentially addictive remedies for pain.”

As Dr. Rosa points out, “The introduction of integrative medicine, specifically chiropractic, has been a game changer for my practice.” He adds, “In years past when someone would come to my office with acute and chronic back pain, opioids were part of the possible relief mechanisms considered. However, I now have an alternative from day one resulting in a non-opioid medicine protocol and possibly even no meds of any kind at all.”

According to Dr. Rosa, “Lower back pain is one of the leading causes of opioid dependency. Lower back pain is also very difficult to treat because it can be hard to identify and eliminate the cause.” “Thus,” he adds, “many doctors prescribe pain killers to provide comfort to their patients while the actual problem remains unsolved.” Dr. Rosa states, “Chiropractors, however, can actually identify the root cause of lower back pain. Often lower back pain is caused by issues in our feet, ankles, knees, or hips.”

Read the entire blog at https://drjohnrosa.com/a-highly-accessible-method-effective-in-managing-lower-back-pain-without-opioids/

About Dr. John P. Rosa

Dr. Rosa is the Owner/manager of 14 health clinics in the Baltimore/Washington DC metro areas concentrating on musculoskeletal injuries of acute, subacute and chronic nature. He oversees the Integrative Medicine practice group which includes general medicine, Chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and behavioral medicine that sees over 60,000 patient visits per year.

Active in sports medicine with consulting/treating college, professional and Olympic athletes. Creator of 24/7 RnR (Relief and aiding Recovery) an FDA approved analgesic cream. Founder of Accessible Wellness Solutions – an onsite corporate wellness program offering consulting, lectures and clinic management.

Leader in Chiropractic

Trustee of New York Chiropractic College for over 15 years and serving final 3-year term as Chairman of the Board.

Opioid Crisis Expert:

White House Surrogate/Consultant
Law Enforcement Consultant (Homeland Security, CBP, DOJ, DEA and Postal)
State and National Consultant to Opioid Task Forces
Corporate and professional organization consultant
Currently forming the Opioid Abuse Prevention Institute

Integrative Medicine Specialist:

Board service to Maryland University of Integrative Health
Consultant on Integrative Medicine to hospital cancer center
Reduced opioid prescriptions by 70% by integrating Chiropractic, physical therapy and behavioral medicine in a primary care setting
Expert/Speaker – educating primary care, urgent care and hospital medical staff on the Integrative Medicine approach to treating pain patients

National Opioid Crisis Expert, Dynamic Speaker And Author, Dr. John Rosa Shares Information That Indicates More And More People Are Realizing Pills Are Not The Answer To Chronic Pain

Dr. John P. Rosa, opioid crisis expert, author and dynamic speaker, tells his readers about an article in the current issue of Consumer Reports that steers those in chronic pain away from drugs and toward a combination of treatments that include hands-on healing methods, physical activities, sleep and psychological treatment.

ROCKVILLE, MD. May 21, 2019: Dr. John Rosa, dynamic speaker, national opioid crises expert, and co-author of The Recipe for Success with Jack Canfield, posted a new blog on his website entitled, “Pain, Pain Go Away Don’t Come Back Another Day,” in which Dr. Rosa indicates a mainstream movement in a more healing direction for people who live with chronic pain.

Dr. Rosa poses a question to his readers asking, “Did you know that 1in 5 Americans lives with chronic pain?” He adds, “With those kinds of numbers it’s no wonder there’s an opioid addiction epidemic.” “Instead of looking for the perfect magic pill to ‘cure’ the pain,” Dr. Rosa states, “it is my goal to turn people who live with pain to other ways of diminishing and eliminating pain so that they can get on with their lives.”

“I was happy to see that Consumer Reports did a June cover article addressing chronic pain in this country and the most current and effective ways of dealing with it,” writes Dr. Rosa. He goes on to elaborate, “In an attempt to curtail the use of opioids, the article is very clear that is not the route to take. In the article, David Tauben, M.D., chief of pain medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, says that, “Pain is an alert, a signal from the brain that there’s something really wrong you need to pay attention to for your survival, be that a rock in your shoe or a broken ankle. Typically the pain fades after you address the problem and the body has a chance to heal.” He goes on to add, “But sometimes the nervous system malfunctions. It gets stuck in the position of ‘I hurt and I’m in danger.’” According to Dr. Tauben, “Medications can help ease the pain, but calming the nervous system requires non-drug measures.” (Real Pain Relief Now, Consumer Reports, June 2019).

Read the entire blog at https://drjohnrosa.com/pain-pain-go-away-dont-come-back-another-day/

About Dr. John P. Rosa

Leader in Chiropractic

Trustee of New York Chiropractic College for over 15 years and serving final 3-year term as Chairman of the Board.

Opioid Crisis Expert:

White House Surrogate/Consultant
Law Enforcement Consultant (Homeland Security, CBP, DOJ, DEA and Postal)
State and National Consultant to Opioid Task Forces
Corporate and professional organization consultant
Currently forming the Opioid Abuse Prevention Institute

Integrative Medicine Specialist:

Board service to Maryland University of Integrative Health
Consultant on Integrative Medicine to hospital cancer center
Reduced opioid prescriptions by 70% by integrating Chiropractic, physical therapy and
behavioral medicine in a primary care setting
Expert/Speaker – educating primary care, urgent care and hospital medical staff on the
Integrative Medicine approach to treating pain patients

National Opioid Crisis Expert, Dynamic Speaker And Author, Dr. John Rosa Shares His Vivid Vision Of A Pill-Free Pain-Free Future

Dr. John P. Rosa, opioid crisis expert, author and dynamic speaker, invites readers to share his vision for a future that is no longer dependent on opioids for pain relief. Instead his vision of the future is one in which each individual is aware of the innate healing power of the human body and no longer wants to mask that power.

ROCKVILLE, MD. April 26, 2019: Dr. John Rosa, dynamic speaker, national opioid crises expert, and co-author of The Recipe for Success with Jack Canfield, posted a new article on his website entitled, “I See The Future Of Pill-Free Pain-Relief With The Help Of Ancient Methods,” in which Dr. Rosa plants the seeds for a healthier way to control pain.

Dr. Rosa pens with a statement and an invitation. He writes, “I can see the future and I invite you to envision it with me.” He elaborates, “It is a place and time when the model for healthcare has taken a turn for the healthier and more humane. In this future the human being is seen as the self-healing system that it truly is and always has been. When injured and in pain an integrative method is employed to awaken the individual’s natural inner healing properties, potentialities and possibilities.”

Continuing to describe his vision, Dr. Rosa says, “This future that I see makes use of multiple therapies, both modern and ancient, including chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, psychotherapy, yoga, physical therapy, meditation, topical creams and ointments, among others.” He adds, “Primary care doctors prescribe all of these treatments, many of which are available within the primary care facility.”

In his vision Dr. Rosa says, “Long gone are the days when people craved a pill to end their pain. Patients are actively involved in their health care. They take self-care seriously and because of their demands the entire medical establishment was forced to change to meet those demands.” He further adds, “In this future/present that I see, people are continuously waking up to their own innate healing potential. They no longer want to mask their pain, they want to get it out of their body.”

Read the entire article at https://drjohnrosa.com/i-see-the-future-of-pill-free-pain-relief-with-the-help-of-ancient-methods/

About Dr. John P. Rosa

Leader in Chiropractic

Trustee of New York Chiropractic College for over 15 years and serving final 3-year term as Chairman of the Board.

Opioid Crisis Expert:

White House Surrogate/Consultant
Law Enforcement Consultant (Homeland Security, CBP, DOJ, DEA and Postal)
State and National Consultant to Opioid Task Forces
Corporate and professional organization consultant
Currently forming the Opioid Abuse Prevention Institute

Integrative Medicine Specialist:

Board service to Maryland University of Integrative Health
Consultant on Integrative Medicine to hospital cancer center
Reduced opioid prescriptions by 70% by integrating Chiropractic, physical therapy and
behavioral medicine in a primary care setting
Expert/Speaker – educating primary care, urgent care and hospital medical staff on the
Integrative Medicine approach to treating pain patients

Decrease Pain, Increase Mobility, Limit Opioid Medications

By Dr. John Rosa

What if I told you that you could decrease pain without medication?

The title of this article is the holistic strategy used with patients who come to my chiropractic centers in pain. My goal is to educate patients, caregivers and anyone else who is interested, how to manage pain without the use of opioid medications.

I recently placed myself into a busy Primary Care medical practice where we have been able to reduce opioid prescriptions by 70% through the integration of Chiropractic, physical therapy and behavioral medicine. Some of the therapies and behavioral approaches include yoga, Acupuncture, massage, mindfulness and meditation, among others. This highly successful integrative approach clearly illustrates that we, as a society, do not need to be drug dependent to be pain-free.

The Pain Is Real

Without question many people live with chronic, oftentimes debilitating pain. As a result of attempting to relieve this pain, the pharmaceutical industry has created highly addictive medications. The medications do relieve the physical pain, but more often than not they lead to more severely painful problems such as addiction and death. And, importantly, they inhibit the body’s own healing wisdom.

In addition, doctors and the pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to prevent the unnecessary use and abuse of opioid medications. In a recent article I read about some very recent research on the topic, “the researchers concluded that prescribers, pharmacists, drug companies and the FDA — all of whom had agreed to special rules and monitoring for use of the powerful opioid — had allowed it to fall into the hands of thousands of inappropriate patients. Over time, the FDA and drug companies became aware this was happening but took no action, the researchers found.” The research also stated that, “Using five years of insurance claims data, the researchers found that between 34.6 percent and 55.4 percent of patients shouldn’t have received the drugs.”

Integrative Pain Management

I’ll begin by saying that integrative pain management is a process that requires more effort than merely popping a pill. However, long-term, this method allows the natural healing process of the body to work its wonders. The body’s ability to heal itself is nothing short of miraculous, but we have to give it the time it needs. A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to pain syndromes and musculoskeletal disorders will typically not satisfy most American’s desire for instant gratification, but it will lead to healing versus addiction.

Speaking Of Pain

In my quest to educate and help move our society away from the use and abuse of opioid drugs, I conduct events and speak to groups about the opioid epidemic and how we can help turn the tide of this devastating practice. Don’t get me wrong. There is a time and a place for the use of opioids, but those times and places are not widespread and do not call for widespread prescriptions. We, as a culture, must get over our insistence on instant gratification.

The most common pain related diagnosis is low back pain. The most common cause of disability is low back pain. The most common reason for prescription opioids is low back pain. And, the treatment that has the highest rate of success battling low back pain is Chiropractic. Funny…Chiropractic is the only physician in the medical world that NEVER prescribes medication, yet only 1% of medical doctors make referrals for the known cure. Now that’s painful!