The Adverse Side Effects of Painkillers

When your back or neck hurts, the first thing you may do is reach for painkillers, either over-the-counter or those prescribed by a doctor. Your doctor may not think twice about writing a prescription for you. Within no time at all, you may be taking several pills a day in order to help overcome the pain you are living with.
There are quite a few adverse side effects to painkillers. The first thing that must be understood is that you are never truly solving the problem. You are simply masking the pain so that you can go about your day. This can be extremely dangerous.

Most painkillers are categorized as opiates. It provides you with an intense high once you have consumed it and your body has processed it. Such a “high” can also result in becoming dependent upon the pills. You may start to gain an addiction without even realizing it. You reach for the bottle every morning simply because you know it’s going to help you.
Your muscles will be relaxed, but it can also make it difficult for you to react quickly, which can be dangerous if you are behind the wheel of a car.
There are some long-term effects as well. Your body may not be used to digesting the drugs, and as you continue to take them day in and day out, it can lead to such effects as vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea. There may also be random muscle spasms, which is due to your nerves reacting to stimuli in your environment. As the dopamine in your system wears off, it can lead to random twitching.
Eventually, if you continue to take painkillers on a regular basis, you are going to build up a tolerance. This means you are going to need more drugs in your system in order to get the same overall effect. You may find yourself asking a doctor for prescriptions on a more regular basis – and some people have experienced painkiller withdrawal symptoms to such a degree that it is necessary to attend a rehab program.
While painkillers are effective in many instances to reduce pain temporarily, there are better solutions for the long term.
Working with a chiropractor allows you to overcome the pain and start to solve the problem itself. Whether it is your back, neck, or other joints, it’s possible to get spinal manipulation and the general adjustment that can work wonders. A treatment plan can then be established that is unique to you so that you can start to improve mobility, flexibility, and reduce the level of pain considerably.