The Great Opioid Lie: Addictive painkillers do NOT reduce lower back or neck pain

Opioids are ineffective treatments for back and neck pain, a new study shows.

Prescription painkillers that have enslaved millions of Americans over the past two decades have been shown to be no more effective at reducing neck and lower back pain than a placebo.

Researchers in Australia indicated that opioid painkillers may actually worsen pain in the long run, while increasing the likelihood of addiction.

The study’s senior author, Professor Christine Lin from the University of Sydney, said: ‘Despite no evidence of their efficacy in reducing pain, opioid painkillers are still widely prescribed in many countries for people with low back pain. and neck pain.

‘Our study now suggests that they could exacerbate patients’ pain levels in the medium and long term.

There was no significant difference in pain severity between groups at six weeks, the primary time point of the study. In fact, people who were not given an opioid reported lower pain scores

New research published in the Lancet suggests that, while traditionally believed to be the gold standard for the treatment of pain, opioids have little to no effect in improving a patient’s lower back and neck pain compared to a dummy pill.

Professor Lin added: ‘We firmly believe that doctors should not prescribe opioid painkillers for new episodes of low back and neck pain.’

Australian, Dutch and Danish scientists have tried to determine whether patients with neck and low back pain benefit from a doctor-controlled course of up to 20 mg oxycodone per day for up to six weeks.

The team of researchers included 347 subjects with an average age of about 45 years who had neck pain, low back pain or both at 157 sites in Australia.

People were selected to participate in the study if they sought medical help from their GP or a doctor in a hospital and had low back or neck pain for up to 12 weeks.

Everyone in the study received non-drug counseling, such as advice to stay active, while 174 were given opiates and the other 171 were given a placebo.

After six weeks, doctors assessed each person’s pain levels to determine if the pills had any measurable benefit. And the doctors found that they generally didn’t.

They rated the subjects’ pain using a scale of 0 to 10 called the Brief Pain Inventory Pain Severity Subscale, which was originally developed to measure levels of pain reported by cancer patients.

On pain scores measured out of 10, the opioid recipients reported a pain score of 2.8, while those in the placebo group reported a slightly lower score, 2.3.

After one year, the opioid recipients reported slightly higher pain scores compared to the placebo group – 2.4 versus 1.8.

Evidence of the long-term effects of taking drugs to treat pain is limitedalthough people who use them on an ongoing basis are at a higher risk of abusing them later on.

Doctors also found that the people who were initially given oxycodone were also more prone to abuse the pills after a year, with 20 percent of those given opioids reporting abuse, compared to 10 percent of those in the placebo group.

In 1999, about 5 percent of 175 opioid-related deaths were due to fentanyl. In 2021, 1557 (94 percent) of 1657 opioid deaths were attributed to fentanyl

Professor Lin said: ‘Low back and neck pain can seriously affect patients’ quality of life, so we need to provide them with the best options to manage their pain, but opioid painkillers do not work and carry serious risks.

“Instead, physicians should be encouraged to focus on patient-centered approaches, including advice to stay active and simple pain relievers.”

With the opioid epidemic at the top of many doctors’ agendas, prescription rates have fallen during the past years

The country’s drug overdose crisis, believed to be triggered by the introduction of prescription opioids like OxyContin, has affected everyone, with a record 107,622 Americans dying of drug overdoses last year.

More than 70 percent of the deaths were caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than oxycodone.