Opioids No Better Than Over-The-Counter Pain Meds For Chronic Pain

CBS Local — A yearlong study offers rigorous new evidence against using prescription opioids for chronic pain. In patients with stubborn back aches or hip or knee arthritis, opioids worked no better than over-the-counter drugs or other nonopioids at reducing problems with walking or sleeping. They also provided slightly less pain relief. Opioids tested included generic Vicodin, oxycodone or fentanyl patches although few patients needed the most potent opioids. Nonopioids included generic Tylenol, ibuprofen, and prescription pills for nerve or muscle pain. The study randomly assigned patients to take opioids or other painkillers. That’s the gold standard design for research. If they don’t work better than less risky drugs, there’s no reason to use opioids given “their really nasty side effects — death and addiction,” said lead author Dr. Erin Krebs, a physician and researcher with the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The results likely will surprise many people “because opioids have this reputation as being really powerful painkillers, and that is not what we found,” Krebs said. The study came out on the same day that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported more troubling news about the scale of the current opioid epidemic. According to the CDC study, which examined data from 16 states, hospital emergency department visits for suspected opioid overdoses jumped 30 percent from July 2016 through Se...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News Addiction Chris Melore Local TV opioid crisis opioids Painkillers talkers Tylenol Source Type: news