Opiates no solution to back pain

Over the last year, the general public has been inundated with a steady stream of reports about the dangers of opiates — pain medicines like codeine, Percocet, and OxyContin. The harm in terms of ruined lives and death from illicit drugs such as heroin is not news. But what is new, and concerning, are the risks of prescription pain medicines — those doctors prescribe for pain due to a range of causes, including musculoskeletal problems like low back pain. The history of using opiates for chronic pain Back pain isn’t a new problem either, but the history of how doctors have treated it is probably new to many. A “cliff notes” version of what changed goes something like this. Studies showed that doctors weren’t adequately treating the pain of people with advanced cancer. Research also showed that pain medicines such as opiates improved quality of life for these terminally ill patients. This realization led to recommendations that doctors monitor pain as they would any other vital sign (like temperature or blood pressure) for all their patients — and that all types of pain receive aggressive treatment, including long-term (chronic) pain, such as low back pain. At the same time, drug companies promoted new formulations of opioid medications with longer duration of activity that made it easier for patients to take on a regular basis. The problem was that this fundamental change in practice was really devoid of any proof that it would help people better manage pain and...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Back Pain Behavioral Health Pain Management Source Type: news