Study: Non-narcotic pain medications work as well as opioids

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen were shown to work better than opioid-based medications at treating chronic back pain, according to research by the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.

Dr. Erin Krebs, one of the lead authors of the study, said that the study shows that there is no discernible benefit to using opioids over NSAIDS that outweighs the potential risk of accidental death or addiction from the more potent pain relievers.

The study looked at 240 patients at a VA primary care clinic that were seeking treatment for chronic pain. Researchers randomly assigned half of the patients a mix of opioids and half a mix of either acetaminophen or ibuprofen for one year. Before and after the trial started, each patient was asked to rate how their pain affected their daily lives and the intensity of the pain itself on a 10-point scale. While both groups found overall relief over the course of the year, the results were nearly identical for both measures and indicated that there might not be any apparent reason for the more powerful drugs to be used under normal circumstances.

Opioid-related deaths continue to be the most significant driver of drug overdoses in the United States with 42,249 recorded in 2016 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Many states, especially in the Northeast and Midwest regions, saw significant death rate increases and prescription rates still hover around 66 per 100 people. It is possible that further research into non-opioid pain medications could help reverse this trend while still providing relief to sufferers of chronic pain.