Study: Opioid Use Increases, Improved Treatment of Chronic Pain Does Not

In a study published in the journal Medical Care, researchers have found that as the use of prescription opioids in the treatment of chronic pain has increased, the treatment and identification of pain has not improved.  “We found that not only have the rates of treated pain not improved, but in many cases, use of safer alternatives to opioids, such as medicines like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, have either stayed flat or declined,” says one of the study’s authors. “This suggests that efforts to improve the identification and treatment of pain have backfired, due to an over-reliance on prescription opioids that have caused incredible morbidity and mortality among patients young and old alike.” Click here to read the full article.