hiropractors and acupuncturists who\u00a0have lobbied for a bigger role in treating pain have won a preliminary endorsement from\u00a0federal health officials.<\/p>\n
The Food and Drug Administration released\u00a0proposed changes\u00a0Wednesday to its blueprint on educating\u00a0health care providers about treating pain. The guidelines now recommend\u00a0that doctors get information about chiropractic care and acupuncture as therapies that might\u00a0help patients avoid prescription opioids.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Health care providers] should be knowledgeable about the range of available therapies, when they may be helpful, and when they should be used as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management,\u201d the agency wrote in the proposal.<\/p>\n
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The suggested changes come as chiropractors and other alternative medicine providers have stepped up lobbying Congress and state legislatures to elevate their role in treating chronic pain. They\u2019ve scored several big victories in recent years.<\/p>\n
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In Oregon, the state Medicaid program decided to cover chiropractic care for lower back pain starting in 2016. Other states are considering similar moves. And earlier this year, the chiropractic industry cheered when the American College of Physicians recommended non-surgical treatments such as acupuncture, yoga, and chiropractic care as the first options for treating lower back pain.<\/p>\n
The FDA\u2019s draft blueprint isn\u2019t final \u2014 and drug makers, doctors, and alternative medicine providers will all have a chance to weigh in. The FDA will take public comments\u00a0through July 10.<\/p>\n
The blueprint released this week is part of a strategy the FDA rolled out in 2011 to address a crisis of\u00a0prescription drug abuse. The FDA required opioid manufacturers to provide education for health providers who prescribe their pain medications\u00a0\u2014 but didn\u2019t mention chiropractic care or acupuncture in its initial blueprint for what that education ought to look like.<\/p>\n
Now, the\u00a0agency is seeking to give prescribers more information on a broader range of approaches to manage pain, including non-pharmacologic therapies,\u00a0said Sarah Peddicord, a spokesperon for the FDA.<\/p>\n
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