A low-back pain survey found that more than 50 percent of those given a prescription drug received an opioid pain reliever, despite the fact that there is very little research to support the use of opioids for acute low-back pain.  Opioids may reduce chronic low-back pain when compared to placebo.  But clinical trials have shown that about half of the people who take them suffer adverse effects such as drowsiness, respiratory depression, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as acid reflux, heartburn, cramping, nausea, and vomiting.

Substance-use disorders, such as overuse, getting drugs from more than one physician, or giving or selling pills to friends, are also reported to affect about 25 percent of people taking opioids for back pain.

Although the side effects often outweigh the benefits, prescriptions of opioids among patients with spinal disorders more than doubled from 1997 to 2004, at least in part because of pharmaceutical-industry marketing and promotion of the drugs.  Emergency department reports of opioid overdose have risen with the numbers of prescriptions.

In our practice, we find that there are almost always better solutions than opioids for low-back-pain patients.  Many people are conscious of what they eat or drink, but don't give a second thought to all of the medication they are taking.  Instead of opening up the medicine cabinet as the first instinct, patients should first consider physical therapy as a less-invasive, safer and more cost-effective approach.  Physical therapists can diagnose and then design an appropriate treatment plan.  Visit www.moveforwardpt.com to read further about what physical therapy can do for you!

Yours in health,

Val