A message of hope for those dealing with muscle and joint pain

As we come to the end of the year my hope is that your life over the past 12 months has been filled with happiness, love, laughter, peace and fulfillment.

I hope you look back and accept the things you could have done better, celebrate the things you did really well, and plan for a better future.

Unfortunately, there are many people who deal with pain daily and it eliminates their hope for a better future.

Pain and depression are linked and work as a negative cycle. When someone deals with pain they feel depressed, and when someone is depressed they start to feel pain.

Most people will search for the quick fix in over-the-counter medications or even prescriptions to reduce pain and hope it will solve their problem.

I think we all know that most medications cover up the problem instead of solving it. Even worse, certain pain medications are addictive and can lead to addiction problems.

When dealing with muscle and joint pain, most medications will lead to steroid injections — which give short-term relief but long-term problems.

Anything the steroid touches will becomes weaker over time and increase the possibility for surgery. Surgery is invasive and carries a lot of risk.

So if you or someone you know is dealing with pain, my message of hope is that there are options for you that are permanent and noninvasive.

I hope you seek these treatments out in order to eliminate pain, improve function and restore your hope that life will get better and that being pain free is an option.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past two years there has been a 39% increase in drug overdose deaths with a huge spike in synthetic opioids since 2015.

If you or someone you know is dealing with muscle pain, joint pain or are taking pain medications — including opioids — please visit www.pcmedicalcenters.com/relief for free help.