Pain that starts out as simple aches can, over time, progress into something severe enough to be hard to manage. Many reach for opioids, particularly in recent years as medical professionals have made them available. Now, with the opioid crisis building full force, there is starting to be a certain amount of stigma against taking them. Pain management must be proactive; the time to take medication to deal with it is before it gets bad. Unfortunately, research is still ongoing for non-opioid methods of dealing with pain. While scientists have some promising avenues to look into, the search isn’t over.

Read more: Looking beyond opioids for safer pain relief