New Study Suggests Opioids May Be Largely Ineffective For Back Pain
Category: Back Pain | Author: Stefano Sinicropi
A new study out of Australia found that placebo pills may be just as effective as certain opioids for providing relief to back pain sufferers.
For the study involving 340 patients with low back or neck pain, researchers divided the group into two sections. One group received opioids, while the other received a sugar placebo pill. After six weeks of medicating, researchers polled participants on their pain severity. They found that there was no difference in pain severity between those who received opioids and those who received the placebo pill. The same finding was revealed at the 12-week mark as well.
“It was quite a surprise to us,” said Andrew McLachlan, the dean of pharmacy at the Sydney Pharmacy School and author of the study. “We thought there would be some pain relief, but overall there was no difference.”
Ineffective And Dangerous
Additionally, researchers found that patients in the opioid group were at an elevated risk of misusing medication a year later, suggesting that not only could opioids be ineffective, they could be dangerous. 20 percent of patients in the opioid group who completed a survey at the one-year mark had scores indicating behaviors that a doctor would find problematic when prescribing opioids. Only 10 percent of patients in the placebo group had similar concerning scores.
And while the study only focused on one specific type of back pain – nonspecific back pain – the findings do emphasize a point that providers have been trying to make in recent years, which is that opioids are a passive treatment option that shouldn’t be your sole form of treatment. As we’ve said on the blog countless times, opioids can absolutely play a key role in treatment when they are paired with other active treatment techniques like physical therapy, exercise, posture changes and other lifestyle improvements, but opioids are rarely a good stand-alone option for back pain. This study confirms that opioids alone are largely ineffective for non-specific back pain, but that doesn’t mean that opioids should not be considered for your spinal issue.
Like any health condition, it really comes down to figuring out exactly what’s going on in your spine and pursuing a combination of the best types of treatment. Opioids are never always the right answer or always the wrong answer. If your spine specialist is going to recommend opioids, they need to be paired with other active interventions and patients need to be made aware of the potential risks like dependence and abuse. This one study doesn’t mean that opioids will never again be recommended for a person with back pain, but it does confirm the growing belief that oversight and additional treatments are necessary in order for treatment to have a higher likelihood of success.
If you want to connect with a spine specialist who will take the time to get to the bottom of your spine issue and set you up with an individualized care plan, look no further than Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute. For more information, or for help with a different spinal issue, give our team a call today at (651) 430-3800.
