Major Medical Group Advises Opioids Not Be Used in Fibromyalgia

[Cort]

“It seems likely that, in the long run, the use of opioids chronically for most routine conditions, such as chronic low back pain, chronic headaches, or fibromyalgia, will not prove to be worth the risk,”​

According to a one survey opioids are pretty commonly used in FM, but the American Academy of Neurologists put out a paper warning against their use in fibromyalgia, migraines and similar disorders.

“For some time the opioid data have failed to show significant benefit for headache, migraine, low back pain, irritable bowel disorder, and fibromyalgia; the AAN position paper is underscoring that opioids should be avoided in these conditions,” said Beth Darnall, PhD, a pain psychologist and author of Less Pain, Fewer Pills.

“We should be steering patients in the direction of non-pharmacologic treatments: pain psychology (where they may learn information, skills, and techniques to dampen pain processing), physical therapy, and acupuncture. These are just a few options. We know that chronic pain is best treated using a multidisciplinary approach.”

While opioid pain medications are generally not prescribed for fibromyalgia, nearly 60% of women with the disorder are currently taking opioids, according to a recent survey of over 2,400 women by National Pain Report.

Check out the full article for more: http://nationalpainreport.com/neurologists-opioid-risks-outweigh-benefits-8824947.html