New Study Reveals Opioids Not That Effective in Treating Pain

I was reading an article the other day on CNN Health. The article covered a research project authored by Dr. Jason W. Busse, a Canadian physician.

The project was the culmination of a diligent survey, a fair amount of research, and extensive study into the relative efficacy of opioid pharmacological pain relievers in their pain relief role.

The research brought to light that, for all their trumped up “glory” and “miracle drug wonderment,” opioid pain relievers are not as effective as we are told they are.

Incredible.

We’ve had the opioid pitch shoved down our throats (literally) for two decades, and not only are these drugs highly addictive and potentially lethal, but we’re also now finding that they don’t even work that well in their intended role. The research paper (found at JAMA Network) not only included its own research to uncover this fact, but it also published the combined findings of several other research papers.

The findings proved that, while opioid pain relievers do offer a pain-relieving quality, opioid use was associated with, “Statistically significant but small improvements in pain and physical functioning, and increased risk of vomiting compared with placebo.” The study also talked about the addiction risk factor of opioid pain relievers, and the phenomena of pain relievers losing their efficacy after extended use.

This study essentially presents a truth that many of us were already thinking as a possibility. Your concerns were valid. Opioid pain relievers do not offer effective, lasting, long-term pain relief for chronic pain conditions—at least nowhere near to the degree that they are promoted.

Expert Commentary on New Data Shows Physician Disproval of Opioids

“Opioids don’t provide any meaningful pain relief. The challenge with that interpretation is it assumes that every patient will get the same amount of pain relief.”

Because not all pain patients experience opioid treatments the same, interpreting the Canadian study’s findings can be difficult.

According to Dr. Jason Busse, the author of the study and an associate professor at McMaster University’s school of medicine in Ontario, “A problematic interpretation of [the study findings] would be: Opioids don’t provide any meaningful pain relief. The challenge with that interpretation is it assumes that every patient will get the same amount of pain relief.”

What the doctor is saying is that his study shows us that a physician would have to treat several patients in order to have one of them actually respond well to opioid pain relievers. Dr. Busse’s study does not say that opioid pain relief is the wrong approach for everyone—just for most patients.

For example, the research findings show us that for a doctor to have one patient who has success from opioid pain relievers, he’ll have to treat about eight patients total, as only one in eight patients respond well to an opioid pain relief regimen.

Again, according to Dr. Busse, “The benefits of opioids for managing chronic pain tend to be quite modest.” Dr. Busse goes on to talk about how non-opioid pain relief solutions might be a better choice than risky opioid painkillers.

Busse closes his commentary with these last statements, conceding that opioids might work for some people, but the odds are not in most patients’ favor: “For individuals who are suffering from unrelenting chronic pain every day of their lives, if they’ve tried other alternatives that haven’t worked, they may in some cases decide they still want to embark on a trial of [opioid] therapy. And now they have the evidence to understand what their chances are of achieving meaningful improvement.”

“We’re going to try the least risky drug first, so therefore opioids [are] not a first line of treatment in most cases. It’s not a second line of treatment, and maybe not a third line of treatment.”

A doctor practicing in the U.S. commented in positive accolades of the Canadian study, saying that it reinforced the knowledge that is now becoming conventional wisdom among pain specialists—opioids just aren’t that effective.

According to Dr. Jianguo Cheng, the president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and the director of the Cleveland Clinic Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship Program, “We’re going to try the least risky drug first, so therefore opioids [are] not a first line of treatment in most cases. It’s not a second line of treatment, and maybe not a third line of treatment.”

The CDC Encourages Doctors to Pursue Non-Pharmacological Methods of Pain Relief

The Canadian study is not the first of its kind to discourage the use of opioid pain relievers due to risk factors and relatively low efficacy ratings.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released prescribing guidelines to all U.S. physicians in 2016, encouraging them strongly to attempt other, non-pharmacological methods of pain relief for their patients.

The CDC opens their prescribing guidelines information packet with Item #1 on their information list: “Nonpharmacologic therapy and nonopioid pharmacologic therapy are preferred for chronic pain. Clinicians should consider opioid therapy only if expected benefits for both pain and function are anticipated to outweigh risks to the patient. If opioids are used, they should be combined with nonpharmacologic therapy and nonopioid pharmacologic therapy, as appropriate.”

The CDC goes on to list cautions on using both immediate-release and timed-release opioids, including several mentions and references back to their initial recommendations that physicians should always prioritize nonpharmacologic treatments for pain over opioid-based treatments.

Ways to Treat Pain with Little to No Risk

Thankfully, there are many options for nonpharmacologic pain relief. They just aren’t that well known or commonly recommended in the medical space—but they should be.

Some of these opioid pain reliever alternatives are:

Ginger has long been known to have pain-relieving properties. Ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory, according to Practical Pain Management. Ginger is also good for motion sickness, morning sickness, an upset stomach, nausea, chemotherapy-induced nausea, post-surgery nausea, and so on. Ginger is also effective in curbing menstrual pain.

The same article talks about turmeric, a helpful little spice that not only has pain-relieving properties but which is also rich in antioxidants. Turmeric can be used to address rheumatoid arthritis, basic aches and pains, post-surgery pain, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, painful stomach ulcers, and ulcerative colitis.

Sharecare talks about magnesium like it might be the key to resolving chronic pain. When consumed, magnesium converts vitamin D, allowing the body to take advantage of calcium. Magnesium helps prevent the onset of osteoporosis. The mineral is also helpful for addressing aches and pains and is great for reducing migraine headaches.

Valerian root is sometimes called “Nature’s Equalizer” and for good reason. Not only is this root beneficial for pain relief, but it also serves to ease anxiety and sleeplessness. Arthritis.org discusses the use of Valerian root as a daily herbal supplement (usually imbibed in tea), as a means of treating chronic pain conditions.

The beautiful thing about all of these supplements and natural items is that they do not pose a risk for addiction, for chemical dependence, and for death. Furthermore, these supplements have very few possible side effects of their own, and none of those effects are as serious as the negative side effects that are present in opioid pain relievers.

We don’t have to succumb to the pain relief mantra of the 21st-century’s medical and pharmaceutical industries. And especially now that we are learning that opioids are not even that effective anyway, we should absolutely be looking into better options.

We deserve the best physical health that we can get, and opioid pain relievers are not the answer to that.

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