This National Recovery Month, UnaSource Surgery Center is proud to be able to support efforts to reduce patients’ reliance on opioids for pain relief.
One way we are doing so is by using the HF10 Spinal Stimulator by Nevro to address chronic leg pain relief. Another way is by providing the ambIT pain relief pump, which allows patients to recover after surgery without the use of addictive narcotic drugs. Both of these efforts are right in line with the goals of National Recovery Month.
The national observance aims to educate Americans that substance abuse treatment and mental health services can help those with a mental and/or substance use disorder recover and then live healthy and rewarding lives.
Each September, the month is celebrated with a new theme. The 2021 National Recovery Month theme is “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.” The goal is to remind people in recovery and those who support them that no one is alone in the journey through recovery. It promotes the concept that although everyone’s journey is different, we are all in this together.
Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery, just as we celebrate health improvements made by those managing other health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease.
This observance reinforces the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, that treatment is effective, and that people can recover.
Following are some startling facts about opioid use and addiction, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Approximately 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
- It is estimated that 20% to 30% of people who take prescription opioids misuse them.
- About 10% of the people who misuse opioids become addicted to them.
- In 2017 alone, 47,600 fatal overdoses involving at least one opioid occurred in America
- In 2017 alone, doctors issued more than 191,000,000 opioid prescriptions.
These staggering statistics revolve around a vicious cycle of the need for treatment of pain, followed by addiction to that treatment, causing even more pain and a greater need for yet more pain relief drugs.
But recovery and support can change lives.
Millions of Americans’ lives have been transformed through recovery. Since these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population, Recovery Month provides a vehicle for everyone to celebrate these accomplishments. Each September, tens of thousands of prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and facilities around the country celebrate Recovery Month. They speak about strides made by those in recovery and share their success stories with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues.
In doing so, everyone helps to increase awareness and foster a greater understanding of mental and substance use disorders.
With September being National Recovery Month, this is the opportune time to talk about a solution to this drug abuse epidemic. UnaSource Surgery Center is making every effort to raise awareness about resources that can help patients recover and heal safely — without the use of narcotics. Visit our UnaSource Surgery Center website to learn more about the ambIT pain relief pump and the spinal stimulator.
We encourage everyone to do their part this month — for yourself, your friends, and your family — by educating one another about the power of recovery and all the resources available to help.