National Chiropractic Health Month: Get Started with Chiropractic National Chiropractic Health Month, a nationwide observance each October, raises public awareness of the importance of musculoskeletal health and the benefits of chiropractic care and its evidence-based, patient-centered and non-drug approach to health and wellness.
SOSR is joining doctors of chiropractic nationwide this October to celebrate National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM). With the theme “Get Started with Chiropractic,” NCHM 2025 will raise awareness of the benefits taking a non-drug approach to pain management.
When it comes to common musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as back, neck and joint pain, getting started with a non-drug approach to treatment may help reduce the need for prescription pain medications down the line. Research shows that people who start with chiropractic treatment for back pain have a significantly lower risk of requiring an opioid prescription later.
While opioid prescriptions are down nationwide, opioid overuse disorder remains a public health problem. The FDA announced in July that it was changing labeling requirements for opioid pain medications “to better emphasize and explain the risks associated with their long-term use.” Evidence-based clinical guidelines from the American College of Physicians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization, among others, now support using non-drug therapies for back pain and other MSK conditions before moving on to prescription opioid pain medications.
It’s important for people to understand there are options available that may help them lessen their need for opioid pain medications long term. Chiropractic offers evidence-based non-drug treatments for pain management as well as advice on health promotion and injury prevention to keep them moving in the right direction, back to their lives and the activities that matter most.
Research studies have shown that patients who receive chiropractic services first may be able to significantly reduce or eliminate their reliance on prescription opioids.
A 2018 study focusing on adults with office visits for non-cancer low back pain found that the likelihood of filling an opioid prescription was significantly lower (55% lower) for recipients of services delivered by chiropractors compared with non-recipients.
A study published in the journal Pain Medicine found that chiropractic users had 64% lower odds of receiving an opioid prescription than non-users.
A study published in the British Medical Journal found that patients who saw a chiropractor as their initial provider for low back pain had 90% decreased odds of both early and long-term opioid use.
A 2022 study focusing on older Medicare beneficiaries with spinal pain found that use of chiropractic care is associated with a significantly lower (56% lower) risk of filling an opioid prescription.
A 2017 study published by the Mayo Clinic found that people with neck pain initiating care with chiropractors had lower odds of using advanced imaging, injections and opioid medications.
Chiropractors treat more than 35 million Americans each year with an evidence-based, non-drug approach to pain relief and wellness.
#GetStartedwithChiropractic at handsdownbetter.org
Did You Know?
We will be opening our 2026 schedule on November 1st!
Announcements
We will have trick or treating at the SOSR office on Friday, October 31st during office hours from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Stop by! We would love to see you in costume! The office will close early at 3:00 PM.
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