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Guidelines for sites linking to mayoclinic.orgThursday, September 26, 2002
Lead: It's a pain that strikes millions of people every year. It keeps them from enjoying leisure activities and may mean a loss of work time. Four out of five Americans will seek medical advice for the pain at some point in their lives. Now, a Mayo Clinic study sheds new light on an old treatment for those who suffer with chronic lower-back pain.
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| For Dana Salisbury, even the car trip to the doctor's office was enough to cause her back pain to flare up | Dana and Dr. J. D. Bartleson in office | |
| Dana Salisbury Back pain sufferer (TC 6:58) | "Watersports, bowling, I was very active. I love my gardening, and after I injured myself there was a lot less i was able to do." | |
| In the nine years since injuring her back, dana's tried everything from accupuncture to back braces. Nothing really worked. Nothing until her doctor prescribed an opioid analgesic, sometimes called an opioid, to relieve her pain. Now it's a pain that's manageable. | Dana and Dr. Bartleson on computer | |
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| Heress why when you feel pain, nerves are sending messages through your spinal cord, and then to receptors in your brain. Opioids work to block those messages in the spinal cord. and in the brain, they work on the receptors to help reduce a person's sense of pain. | Animation |
| Dr. Bartleson TC (21:16) | Opioid analgesics are the strongest pain killers that we have. | |
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| Opioids, such as morphine, Fentanyl and oxycodone (oxy-coh-dohn), are administered orally or with a patch.
Dr. J. D. Bartleson, a Mayo Clinic neurologist, reviewed all available studies on the use of opioids for chronic lower-back pain. His conclusion "opioids" aren't used enough. Why? Doctors and patients both have resisted using them because there is a possibility of developing tolerance, leading to the need for higher and higher doses. There is also the risk of addiction, and the possibility of abuse.
However, Dr. Bartleson says, with proper patient selection and careful monitoring, those risks are minimal. He believes opioids should at least be considered as a treatment, especially if someone is considering surgery. |
(graphics)
development of tolerance and the need to increase dosage over time.
(Reveal)
Risk of drug dependence and withdrawal if drug is stopped or dosage reduced.
(reveal)
Abuse
Dr. Bartleson working on computer |
| Dr. Bartleson TC (52:25) | "I believe these medications are worth trying before a patient is subjected to an operation. These medicines do not have permanent long- term side effects, but an operation can." | |
| Dana still experiences pain and accepts that she just can't do some things. But since taking the opioids." | Dana with Dr. Bartleson | |
| Dana (TC 19:00) | "I've been able to rejoin the family and be able to participate and be there instead of having to stay home and be in pain constantly" |
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Contact:
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email:newsbureau@mayo.edu
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