Patients taking opioids prior to ACL surgery more likely to be on pain medications longer

(American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine) More than 130,000 Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgeries take place each year with the majority of patients not requiring pain medication after three months post-operatively. However, researchers presenting their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting today in Toronto, Ontario, Canada found that those patients who were filling opioid prescriptions prior to surgery were 10 times more likely to be filling prescriptions five months after surgery.
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news