In our articles we often discuss the pain and injuries that our shock absorbing socks can help prevent. We see them as providing excellent turf toe support, reducing heel pain, and acting as the best socks for shin splints around. And all the while they’re reducing the amount of impact that is felt in the heels, ankles, legs, and back, making them the best pain relieving socks around.
But as much as these socks can do to help, it’s not just the pain associated with walking or running that we can help with. Because by reducing that pain, we can also help to reduce the lifelong pains than an opiate addiction can cause. Because if your feet aren’t in pain, you might not have to start taking opium-based painkillers in the first place.
(Before we start, we have to reiterate that going to a doctor should always be your first choice when experiencing a debilitating injury. While our pain relieving socks are great at reducing impact, you should discuss extreme pains with your doctor. Together you can decide what kind of footwear and / or painkiller could work best for you.)
What Are Opiates?
Opium is derived from the opium poppy plant, and opiates are synthetic versions of this drug. To put it in perspective, heroin is a semi-synthetic opiate. (The original Heroin, actually a brand name from decades ago, was made from the morphine produced during opium production.)
Opiates are one of the most commonly-prescribed painkillers out there and are known by names like oxycodone (Percocet and Oxycontin), codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl, and morphine.
When Are They Prescribed?
Opiates are prescribed in times of extreme pain. One of the most common times is post-surgery, but they can also be prescribed by doctors in order to treat chronic pain. While doctors are growing more aware of the problems associated with opium addiction, patient insistence will often wear them down since there’s no test for “level of pain.”
What’s The Problem?
To put it bluntly, opiates can become addictive very quickly. Like most drugs, they activate the pleasure centers of the brain. And, like most drugs, the brain can develop a tolerance to them, requiring more and more to get the same intense experience.
Another problem with opiates is that they are relatively easy to procure. While most people don’t have the ability to grow opium poppies, the fact that opiates are prescribable — and easy to steal from people’s medicine cabinets — mean that there are a lot of them out there. Some people go so far at to “double doctor,” which is when they head to two separate doctors for extra prescriptions.
Opiates overdoses can also lead to death. As we said, a tolerance can be built up in the brain, but the body isn’t developing such a tolerance, so an overdose of opiates is possible. This often presents itself as respiratory or cardiac arrest.
How Can Sole Impact Help?
Foot pain can be debilitating to some people, making it impossible even to walk. All athletes tend to experience some foot pain, either due to impact or improper footwear. So if you can avoid that foot pain when it starts by wearing shock absorbing socks, the problem is less likely to build into one that leads to the need for painkillers.
If you can avoid opiates, do! While the final decision is up to you and your doctor, avoiding pain in the first place could go a long way to having to make that decision at all. You’ve got nothing to lose, so head on over the shop and check out the variety we have to offer.