- Researchers compared the efficacy of opioids and a placebo for treating low back pain and neck pain.
- There were no significant differences in pain score between the placebo and opioids group after 6 weeks of treatment, and a year later the placebo group had slightly lower pain scores.
- The findings suggest that opioids may be ineffective for treating certain pain conditions.
Lower back pain is the
Neck pain is also a leading contributor to disability worldwide and is estimated to be the
Clinical guidelines recommend opioid painkillers for people with lower back pain or neck pain when other treatments have not worked. Studies, however, show that opioids may be a first-line treatment for many with the conditions, including two-thirds of those in Australia.
Despite this, little
Further research on the efficacy of opioids for treating lower back pain and neck pain could inform treatment options.
Recently, researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia investigated the efficacy and safety of short courses of opioids for managing lower back pain and neck pain.
They found that opioids did not outperform the placebo in pain relief and that treatment with opioids increased the risk of misuse later on.
Their study appears in
Medical News Today spoke with Charles De Mesa, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and chief of Interventional Pain, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Hoag Spine & Specialty Clinic in California, who was not involved in the study, about this…
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