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NPIC
TURE20 GUIDE TO WELLNESS CR.ORGBest and
Safest Ways to
Relieve Pain
Opioid medications are risky and not
all that effective. Here, the right methods
for easing common discomforts.IF YOU SPEND the day wincing—from arthritis, back pain, a
recent surgery, or serious headaches—your doctor might
suggest that you try a powerful opioid medication. But that’s
not your only option, and it shouldn’t be your first.
Nearly a third of adults ages 50 to 80 report filling such a
prescription within the past two years, according to a 2018
poll. These drugs can be risky: As many as a quarter of
people taking opioids long-term end up battling addiction.
But doctors still handed out more than 191 million opioid
prescriptions in 2017 alone.taminophen (Tylenol and
generic), pose risks. “That’s
why we often prefer to use
nondrug therapies as the
first-line option,” Ring says.
Here, some safer ways to
treat four common pains.Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain affects
nearly half of healthy, active
people 60 and older. Most
of the time it can be suc-
cessfully treated and man-
aged with nondrug mea-
sures: The American College
of Physicians (ACP) recom-
mends therapies such
as heating pads, massage,
acupuncture, tai chi, and
yoga as first-line treatments.
“The safety profile is much
better, and the effectiveness“Many older adults may
be taking opioids unnec-
essarily,” says David Ring,
M.D., Ph.D., professor of
surgery and psychiatry at
Dell Medical School at the
University of Texas at Aus-
tin and a spokesperson for
the American Academy of
Ortho pae dic Surgeons.
Yet for many types of pain,
opioids aren’t any more
effective than non-opioid
medications, research has
shown. A 2018 JAMA study
found that people who took
opioids for chronic back,
knee, or hip pain did no
better—and in some cases
had worse pain—than those
who took non-opioid med-
ications. And even non-opioid
medications, such as ace-