It’s estimated that roughly 50 million Americans (or 20% of the U.S. population) are living with some kind of chronic pain, which is more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined.
September is Drug-Free Pain Management Month and Dr. Charles Schuster, owner of Back to Health Non-Surgical Pain Solutions, which has been operating in the Charleston community for more than 26 years, is working to educate people on long-term natural pain relief options.
“Pain is a warning sign that something in our body needs attention, and oftentimes, instead of trying to actually heal the body and treat the root of the problem, we use medication to temporarily make the pain go away,” said Dr. Schuster. “Living with chronic pain can drastically affect a person’s life and our goal at Back to Health has always been to help patients find pain relief that not only makes them feel better but also eliminates the need for addictive pain medicines.”
After more than 20 years working as a back specialist, Dr. Schuster has never prescribed pain medication to any patient and has been recognized by the Illinois Chapter President of National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) for his commitment to not prescribing addictive opioids in his medical clinic.
“I think our practice has always been a bit ahead of the curve in terms or recognizing the importance of offering patients pain solutions that don’t involve prescription drugs,” said Dr. Schuster. “Now, as we are seeing more and more people become addicted to pain medications, that really underscores the importance of our decision.”
Common causes of chronic pain include back and neck pain, arthritis, diabetic neuropathy and nerve pain.
Dr. Schuster said his office offers many non-invasive treatments which can help alleviate chronic pain and promote long-term healing such as Platelet Rich Plasma therapy, which utilizes a patient’s own blood platelets to help prevent arthritis, Prolo therapy, which helps loosen strained muscles and allows them to heal naturally, and Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression, which relies on advanced technology to create negative pressure in the discs and has a 91% success rate with herniated discs.
