More pain medications are coming under closer scrutiny. Opioids (that include Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Tramadol and Propoxyphene) have recently been shown, according to a recent study, to be linked with heart diseases and increased bone fractures.
The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It looked at 13,000 Medicare patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis who received a prescription for either NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen), COX-2 inhibitors (such as Vioxx and Celebrex), or opioids (such as oxycodone and hydrocodone). The study was performed over a six-year period.
The study indicates that those that took opioids were at a 4.5 times greater risk of suffering a hip, pelvis, wrist, or arm fracture!
On top of that, the study suggests that opioid consumers were more likely to suffer from a heart attack than those that take COX-2 inhibitors (Vioxx was puled from the market because of its link to heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues). According to an article on CNN:
"In addition to the increased risk of fracture, people who took opioids were more than twice as likely to have a heart attack than their counterparts who took NSAIDs. Surprisingly, the risk of heart attack associated with opioids was even higher than that seen with Vioxx and other COX-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs that has been plagued by concerns about heart problems, including heart attack. (Vioxx and Bextra were withdrawn from the market for this reason, and Celebrex is now the only COX-2 inhibitor sold in the U.S.)"
Wow! I have told patients for years that taking any pain medication is a trade off, and this recent study confirms it. Man-made chemicals are a risk to you and your health and should only be taken when all else fails.
Dr. Daniel H. Solomon, MD and lead author of the study said that "Opioids are not as safe as people had hoped," ( Dr. Solomon is a rheumatologist and epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts.) "We need to recognize that opioids are not without risk."
Dr. Solomon further recommends that physicians should take a closer look at the non-opioid pain reduction methods, such as NSAIDS (advil, motrin), and other NON DRUG METHODS for the treatment of pain...
Thank you Dr. Solomon.
Here are some suggestions for the treatment of pain without drugs:
1) A healthy, anti-inflammatory diet
2) Chiropractic manipulation or adjustments
3) Acupuncture therapy
4) Increased exercises and stretching
5) Massage therapy
Do you know what the side affects of the above 5 treatments is? Good health...
The risks of non-medicine approaches for pain control are SOOOO minimal. Patients have nothing to loose to try them and possibly much to gain.
Keith E. Biggs, DC
http://www.eastmesachiropractor.com
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