The use of opioids has been supported for acute post surgery and individuals with cancer pain. However there is now evidence against the use of opioids for patients with fibromyalgia (Littlejohn et al 2016), persistent musculoskeletal conditions such as chronic low back pain (Krebs et al 2018) and chronic pelvic pain (Cichowski et al 2018). For instance, a study published in the journal Pain showed that patients with chronic low back pain provided with sham opioids (placebo) had similar improvements in pain and activity levels (Klinger et al 2017).
“Results do not support initiation of opioid therapy for moderate to severe chronic back pain or hip or knee osteoarthritis pain” (Krebs et al 2018)
“Chronic opioid therapy is not recommended for chronic pelvic pain” (Cichowski et al 2018)
“There is no evidence that pure opioids are effective in fibromyalgia” (Littlejohn et al 2016)
Even when prescribed for non-cancer pain, the most recent guideline recommends avoiding opioid therapy for longer than 90 days (Rosenberg et al 2018).
If wish to learn more about this topic, you may access my full Opioid E-book titled, “The best opioids don’t come in a bottle …but are found in small enjoyable activities.”
I will once again emphasize, opioid addiction is a complex societal and mental health issue. It is an awful situation to be in.