Blog

Pain-Killers and Anti-inflammatory Abuse

Published on December 15, 2011.

Updated: 3/15/2012

Pain-killers and NSAIDs use in the aging patient
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that prescribing opioids for pain to older patients within seven days of short-stay surgery appears to be associated with long-term analgesic use.

Patients are frequently prescribed analgesics after ambulatory or short-stay surgery in anticipation of postoperative pain and the most common analgesics prescribed to outpatients are opioids (such as codeine and oxycodone) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). While opioids can be beneficial, they are associated with such adverse effects as sedation, constipation and respiratory depression, and their long-term use can lead to physiologic tolerance and addiction, the authors write in their study background.

“Our findings suggest that the prescription of codeine after short-stay surgery may contribute to the use of other potent opioids, such as oxycodone, which have been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality,” the authors conclude. “These points do not even consider that the continued use of opioids after one year raises the possibility that the exposure may result in addiction or physical dependence.” (1)

Chronic pain is a condition that affects many people. Many hope to manage that pain with over-the-counter painkillers like Motrin or Tylenol or narcotics like oxycodone. But at the Magaziner Center for Wellness, there are better ways. Ways that are not just pain management techniques, but healing techniques that eliminate the need for pain-killers.

New research
The side-effects of prescription narcotics including dependence or hyperalgesia (an increased sensitivity to pain) should be enough to make anyone concerned of their usage and to seek alternative remedies. One such remedy for knee pain is Total Knee Replacement. Total Knee Replacement has its own complications but now researchers say opioid medication usage makes those complications much more likely.

New research shows that people who resort to total knee replacement, who used opioid medications prior to the surgery were at substantially greater risk for complications and painful prolonged recoveries.

In fact of the 49 patients studied who used pain medications prior to knee replacement, five arthroscopic evaluations and eight revision surgeries were needed for persistent stiffness and/or pain, and ten patients were referred for outpatient pain management. These were very significant findings, indeed.

Here at the Magaziner Center for Wellness, our plan is to seek pain out at its source: the damaged tissue, joints, muscles, nerves, ligaments or tendons. We avoid pain medication usage and we help patients avoid surgery. Even patients who have tried chiropractic, epidural steroids, nerve blocks and even surgery with less than hoped for results, can be cured by Prolotherapy and Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) treatments.

Are you living on pain medications, over-the-counter and prescribed and want to explore a different way? Contact us.

1. Alam A, Gomes T, Muhammad M, et al. Long-term Analgesic Use After Low-Risk Surgery,Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(5):425-430.

2. Zywiel MG, Stroh DA, Lee SY, Bonutti PM, Mont MA. Chronic opioid use prior to total knee arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011 Nov 2;93(21):1988-93.