Based on the study by Lakhan et. al. (2016), they conducted a review consisting of 12 studies looking at the effects of aromatherapy on pain. They focused on chronic pain in the back, knee, neck, during menstruation, post-operative, pediatric, cancer and neurological pain disorders to name a few. Analyzing the data they collected, they were able to conclude that patients who did use aromatherapy for pain management reported effectiveness for use in a variety of medical conditions.
With alternative medicine around every corner, is it safe to say that this should be a go to before relying on pharmaceutical drugs for pain management or taken with their normal pain controlling regimen? And should alternative medicine be a topic health care providers should suggest and mention before writing a prescription for pain relieving drugs?
Lakhan, S. E., Sheafer, H., & Tepper, D. (2016). The effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Research and Treatment. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.dml.regis.edu/apps/doc/A502507838/AONE?u=regis&sid=AONE&xid=007529ef
Auna, this is so interesting to me as this is actually in the realm of what I am doing for my MS project. Considering the current opioid epidemic, I think this should certainly be an option that health care providers present to patients especially for diseases such as chronic pain where there is not a clear physical/biological cause for the pain. The CDC published guidelines recently for prescribing opioids and one of the first is ensuring that all alternate options have been exhausted prior to prescribing the medication so I agree with you that this would be a very feasible option. I also appreciate that you stated that this could also be taken in conjunction with their regimen because I think that is unrealistic that we will ever be able to completely stop opioid prescription. Finally, as far as we know, there are no ill side-effects to aroma therapy correct? So if it doesn't hurt, why not.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of alternative medicine should be something addressed by physicians and the current healthcare system. Recently, the usage of herbal medicine in America has been increasing, partly due to the affordability of these substances. However, little research has been done on the exact mechanism of many of these herbal medications and there has been adverse physiological side effects observed when these substances are combined with certain pharmaceutical ones. While I do believe that CAM (complementary alternative medicine) holds certain benefits, I think we need more funding towards research elucidating the exact mechanism of these herbal supplements. Furthermore, we also have to relook at the current regulation of herbal supplements to ensure their quality and purity. Physicians should also be trained to keep up to date on known drug-herb interaction (such as St. John's Wort and Warfarin) and to have these conversations with their patients to reduce possible adverse health outcomes from combining herbal medicine usage with pharmaceutical drug usage.
ReplyDeleteAbebe, W. (2002). Herbal medication: Potential for adverse interactions with analgesic drugs. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 27(6), 391–401. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2710.2002.00444.x