A new paper has been published recently in The Lancet, one of the oldest, peer-reviewed medical journals in the world, analyzing the results of the recent OPAL trial. The Opioids for acute Spinal Pain (OPAL) was a triple-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized study conducted between Feb. 2016 and March 2022. The authors looked at the effectiveness of opioids for patients with 12 weeks or less of low back and/or neck pain.
Patients were split into two groups, one receiving opioids and the other a placebo for up to 6 weeks. After analyzing the results, the authors determined:
Interpretation
Opioids should not be recommended for acute non-specific low back pain or neck pain given that we found no significant difference in pain severity compared with placebo. This finding calls for a change in the frequent use of opioids for these conditions.
As more and more studies are published highlighting the ineffectiveness of opioids for low back pain, it’s more important than ever that patients look for alternative, conservative methods of care, such as chiropractic and physical medicine, for relief from low back pain.
Read the full study here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00404-X/fulltext
