Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury, a gym goer suffering from every session, or just an individual in need of proper pain relief, the largest review ever conducted on opioids has found that not only do these drugs often fail to work, but side effects including addiction mean that the negative effects often outweigh the positive effects of taking such pills.
What did the largest opioid study ever find?
ProjectLed by researchers at the University of Sydney, the study looked at the efficiency of several opioid drugs, such as oxycodone, codeine, morphine and tramadol, in 59 systematic reviews and covering more than 50 pain conditions, to determine the success of these drugs. No doubt, such work is important because opioids are one of the most commonly prescribed treatments for pain. However, the latest results show that while opioids reduce pain, the relief only lasts a few hours. Worst of all, opioids have been shown to be barely better than placebo in many other cases.
“Overall, oral opioids were only slightly better than placebo for acute musculoskeletal pain, for which they are often prescribed,” Abdel Shaheed explainedwho served as lead author on the latest review. “The risk of side effects also increases when opioids are used for acute musculoskeletal pain, certain types of surgical pain, or traumatic limb pain.”
Do opioids really work for acute pain?
The Australian team found that opioids worked best for mild, short-term relief for acute abdominal pain after dental or ear procedures, organ injuries, or cesarean delivery, but for other types of severe pain, such as kidney stones, or after organ surgery, these drugs performed no better than placebo.
What are the most common side effects of opioids?
Side effects of opioids were also associated with illness-like side effects in people dealing with musculoskeletal pain. And, experts found that while opioids proved successful against pain, the negative consequences such as addiction, greater tolerance, abuse, and even death far outweighed any benefits.
“It is important that patients are informed about the potential harms when prescribed opioids and that doctors prescribe these medications judiciously (in the lowest effective dose/shortest duration) for acute pain,” said Dr. Stephanie Mathieson, who served as co-first author on the recent review.
Why does addiction risk remain a major concern?
Making the public aware that other treatments, such as a carefully considered diet and exercise plan, can help relieve pain is very important, because The American Psychiatric Association reports that It is estimated that 3% to 12% of people treated with opioids will develop addiction with negative consequences.
“By showing that benefits are generally small, short-lived, absent for many common conditions, and sometimes harmful, our research challenges the widely held belief that opioids are the most effective ‘go-to’ option for acute pain,” said Shaheed.
