Complementary and Alternative Medicine's Effectiveness in Reducing High-Impact Chronic Pain and Opioid Consumption: A Case Report in the Veteran Population.

Chronic pain is a condition affecting millions of Americans annually. Veterans, as a population cohort, are often afflicted with chronic pain that is more complex, with higher rates of psychiatric and social comorbidities when compared to the general population. In this case report, we describe a veteran with major depressive disorder and alcohol abuse afflicted by high-impact chronic pain, initially treated and then maintained on high dose opioids developing dependency, who was successfully weaned off and achieved adequate pain management using complementary and alternative medicine, namely Qi gong. We conclude that complementary and alternative medicine offers a safe and effective option in providing pain relief using nonpharmacological means and thus avoiding undesired effects. We postulate that as research in this area increases, the demand for and the availability of complementary and alternative medicine will expand.