The American medical industry is a big one, and there is a variety of different medical centers out there for nearly any sort of medical malady. Two particular, and specialized, medical sites may be detox centers and pain clinics. Detox doctors are specialists who can help a patient recover from a drug or alcohol addiction, and this is a necessary step for an addict to free themselves of drugs. Meanwhile, pain clinics may be visited if a patient suffers from chronic pain, such as lower back pain, arthritis, and the like. Most often, Americans can find these pain clinics when they consult their doctor or primary care physician and explain their chronic pain. What might someone expect from a detox center or a visit to pain clinics in their area?
Becoming Free of Drugs
The bad news is that many American adults and even adolescents are addicted to painkillers or prescription drugs, such as heroin and other opioids. Drug abuse may greatly damage the addict’s health and finances alike, and some Americans in fact perish from accidental overdoses every year. Fortunately, the medical industry is quite aware of drug abuse problems in the U.S. today, and many detox centers have been built to help addicts take the first step to recovery. When a drug addict seeks to become free of drug abuse, that person can and should visit a local detox center, and they may find such a clinic online or by consulting their doctor.
At such a clinic, the patient will spend a few days undergoing the detox process which, while unpleasant, is a necessary step to take. Better yet, there will be trained medical professionals on hand to oversee and monitor the process, to ensure that the patient undergoes a full detox. The staff may intervene if something goes wrong during that process. Later, when the drug addict has flushed all drugs from their system, that patient may undergo therapy and counseling to help them prepare themselves for a life without drugs, and adjust to this new lifestyle. These detox centers are also a good way to ensure the patient doesn’t relapse during the detox process to escape the unwanted side effects. Something similar may be done for alcohol addicts.
Going to Pain Clinics
Meanwhile, many millions of Americans every year suffer from chronic pain for one reason or another, often in their joints or due to distressed nerves. Someone suffering from chronic pain can consult their primary care physician to find pain clinics in their area, and get specialized medical help.
What causes such pain? The elderly often get chronic pain from arthritis, or inflammation of the joints, and many Americans young and old suffer from back pain. The human spine is unique in the animal kingdom in that it endures a lifetime of upright walking, fighting gravity the entire time. This puts wear and tear on the spine, and surveys and studies show how often Americans deal with back pain. Nearly 50% of working Americans admit to getting back pain symptoms sometimes, and experts say that close to 80% of the entire American population will experience back pain sometime in their lives. One in three women and one in four men may experience this pain, often due to years of hard manual labor, a recent injury (such as a sports injury), pregnancy, ongoing stress, or simply old age. Major spinal issues call for surgery, but other cases may only require non invasive methods of treatment.
The doctors, nurses, and vocational therapists at these pain clinics will help any patient work out a treatment regimen that cures them of their pain. Treatments may include acupuncture, massages, meditation, and even cognitive behavioral therapy. These non invasive methods may naturally treat pain and eliminate it source, such as massages or chiropracty. In either case, an expert will use their bare hands to readjust bones and relieve stress on muscles or pinched nerves to relieve pain and pressure. A yoga expert may guide the patient through stretches and bends that relieve pressure on muscles, joints, and nerves, and also fully restore that patient’s arcs of movement and flexibility. In the middle of all this, meditation can help calm and relax the body and mine alike, smoothing out the recovery process.