Everyone may know this: In the case of more or less severe physical pain, taking certain medications is often the logical step and can quickly relieve you of any pain. However, certain drugs also harbor a high potential for addiction.
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This is particularly true in the US, where addiction to opioids, extremely strong painkillers, is a real problem. What's more, many of these drugs don't even really work. A study by the University of Sydney in Australia has now found this out.
Study examines effect of painkillers
As reported by the BILD newspaper and the magazine t-online, the study included 347 patients who had been suffering from painful back and neck problems for some time.
In the course of the study, half of the subjects were treated with a strong painkiller called oxycodone. The other half was treated with placebos, i.e. tablets without any active components. However, neither the patients nor the researchers knew which patient received which tablet.
Read more:These common painkillers could actually make suffering worse, study shows
Placebos work better than opioids
The result: in the end, paradoxically, the placebos actually had a better effect, while the patients who were treated with the real painkiller showed a strong tendency towards addiction.
Expert Dr. Martin Marianowicz also confirmed to BILD that the strong drugs with their highly addictive potential don't actually help at all. According to him, opioids merely inhibit pain signals in the central nervous system, but do not combat the cause of the pain.
Read more:Beware of these dangerous side effects of taking common painkillers
Addiction is a real problem in the UK
The fact that, despite the high risk of addiction, opioids are obviously still prescribed too lightly, is shown by further figures from the Australian study: according to the research, more than 40 percent of patients with back pain worldwide are prescribed opioids at some point.
In Germany, the dispensing of opioids is supposed to be strictly regulated. However, according to the Priory Group, around 250,000 people are addicted to opioids in the UK. These figures show how easily people are prescribed strong painkillers, despite their high addiction risk.
Read more:Here's the medication you should be careful of taking during a heatwave
This article has been translated from Gentside DE.
Sources used:
t-online: Studie warnt: Diese Schmerzmittel wirken nicht und können schnell abhängig machen
BILD: Erschreckende Studie zu wichtiger Arznei: Schmerzmittel wirken schlechter als Placebos
The Priory Group: Opioids: understanding the current state in the UK
