Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury, a gymgoer suffering through each session, or just an individual who needs some proper pain relief, the largest review ever conducted on opioids has found that not only do these drugs often fail to perform, but side effects including addiction mean that the negatives effects often outweigh the positives of taking such pills.
What Did the Largest Opioid Study Ever Find?
The project, led by researchers at the University of Sydney, looked at the efficiency of several opioid medications like oxycodone, codeine, morphine, and tramadol, across 59 systematic reviews and covering 50-plus pain conditions, to determine the success of these drugs. No doubt, such work is important because opioids are among the most common prescribed treatments for pain. The latest results show, however, that even where opioids alleviate pain, this relief only lasted for a few hours. Worst still, opioids were shown to be barely better than a placebo in many other cases.
“Overall, oral opioids were only slightly better than placebo for acute musculoskeletal pain, which they are often prescribed for,” explained Abdel Shaheed, who served as lead author on the latest review. “Opioids also increased the risk of side effects when used for acute musculoskeletal pain, some types of post-surgical pain or traumatic limb pain.”
Do Opioids Actually Work for Acute Pain?
The team out of Australia found that opioids work best for modest, short-term relief for acute pain in the stomach, after dental or ear procedures, limb injuries, or caesarean deliveries, but for other types of strong pain, such as that of kidney stones, or following limb surgery, these medications performed no better than a placebo.
What Are the Most Common Side Effects of Opioids?
Opioids were also associated with side effects such as sickness in those dealing with musculoskeletal pain. And, the experts found that where opioids did prove to be successful against pain, negative results such as addiction, greater tolerance, misuse, and even death far outweighed any benefits.
“It is important that patients are informed about the potential harms from opioids when prescribed them, and that doctors prescribe these medicines judiciously (lowest effective dose/smallest amount of time) for acute pain,” said Dr. Stephanie Mathieson, who served as co-first author on the recent review.
Why Addiction Risk Remains a Major Concern
Making the public aware that other therapies, such as a carefully considered diet and exercise plan, can help with pain relief is of great importance, since the American Psychiatric Association reports that an estimated 3% to 12% of people treated with opioids will go on to develop an addiction that leads to negative consequences
“By showing that the 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.