Lobby groups, health bodies, and doctors have observed that painkillers for back pain relief being overused is a huge problem for people with back pain. All of them have recommended stringent measures to control the use of painkillers. Physicians have been found to prescribe over the recommended dosage of painkillers, especially those widely known as opioids, which are strong medicines and have not been analysed for their long-term effect. General observations show that these type of painkillers are being used randomly on prescriptions from physicians. Even renowned clinics have been found to use the harmful painkillers, and their misuse may sometimes be fatal.
 
Medical professionals have long been concerned about the risks involved in the use of painkillers, such as Oxycontin, especially when they are being overused. Potential dangers such as reduced hormone secretion, sleep apnea, and even frequent falls resulting in hip fracture, have affected the lives of many due to the overuse of these painkillers. In spite of the health hazards caused by excess dosage of painkillers, patients on prescription often take them from their doctor for the temporary relief they provide for any type of pain. Presently, patients are becoming conscious of avoiding taking painkillers, especially in excess dosage to avoid further complications.
 

This article sheds further light on the issue:

Painkillers For Back Pain Relief Being Overused

Studies show that painkillers for back pain relief are being overused

It was the type of conversation Dr. Claire Trescott dreads: telling physicians they are not cutting it.

 

But Group Health, which Trescott helps manage, has placed controls on how painkillers are prescribed, like making sure doctors do not prescribe too much. Doctors on staff have been told to abide by the guidelines or face the consequences.

 

So far, two doctors have decided to leave, and two more have remained but are being closely monitored.

 

“It is excruciating,” said Trescott, who oversees primary care at Group Health. “These are often very good clinicians who just have this fatal flaw.”

 

High-strength painkillers known as opioids represent the most widely prescribed class of medications in the United States. And over the last decade, the number of prescriptions for the strongest opioids has increased nearly fourfold, with only limited evidence of their long-term effectiveness or risks, federal data shows.

 

“Doctors are prescribing like crazy,” said Dr. C. Richard Chapman, the director of the Pain Research Center at the University of Utah.

 

Medical professionals long have been on high alert about powerful painkillers like OxyContin because of their widespread abuse.

 

Now the alarm is extending to an arena where the drugs had been considered legitimate and safe: doctors’ offices where they are prescribed — and some say grossly overprescribed — for the treatment of long-term pain from back injuries, arthritis and other conditions.

 

Studies link narcotic painkillers to a variety of dangers, like sleep apnea, sharply reduced hormone production and, in the elderly, increased falls and hip fractures. The most extreme cases include fatal overdoses.

 

Data suggest hundreds of thousands of patients nationwide might be on potentially dangerous dosages. And while no one questions that the medicines help countless patients and that most doctors prescribe them responsibly, there is a growing resistance to their creeping overuse.

 

Experts say doctors often keep patients on the drugs for years and patients can develop a powerful psychological dependence on them that mirrors addiction. But changing old habits can be difficult — for doctors and patients alike.

 

more of article here

 

Long-term use of painkillers for back pain relief being overused often leads to addiction, which takes time. Once people become addicted, it is hard to come off them, and also prolonged use can cause significant harm to the body. The effect of long-term use of painkillers may even be fatal in the end.

Have you been taking pain pills to help your pain? There can be an end to it. This video from Neuro Spine Surgeon Dr Ara J. Deukmedjian provides great information about pain killers for back pain.

Dr. Vincent Bellonzi is a chiropractor and a certified clinical nutritionist from Austin Wellness. In the video below he discusses pain management in relation to using painkillers for relief.

To get more ideas on painkillers for back pain – and how to use them properly and avoid the dangerous cycle – get a free copy of Jesse Cannone’s back pain cure book below. It takes seconds to sign up, and in a few days you will have a brand new hardcover book about back pain relief in the mail!