Study on Opioid Effectiveness on Back Pain
There has been a long-standing question on whether opioid painkiller effectiveness on back pain is worth the risk of addiction. A study now suggests that higher levels of depression and anxiety reduce the effectiveness of opioids, and increases incidences of side effects. Any addiction counselor can tell you that the findings are not a surprise.
Medical XPress posted this article about the study, and it’s an interesting read for the numbers. While reading, keep in mind that depression and anxiety often co-occur with addiction and alcoholism. So when someone predisposed to addiction is prescribed a highly addictive medication that satisfies their need to escape, the patient is likely going to prolong access to the drug by exaggerating their level of pain. This has been common practice for many years, and it is often the case that the patient convinces themselves that they are in pain even though they don’t feel pain.
The data in the study is a good step forward, and may be a catalyst to reverse the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in the country.