Nonopioid Treatments for Chronic Pain—Integrating Multimodal Biopsychosocial Approaches to Pain Management
Stephanie A. Eucker, Mitchell R. Knisely, Corey B. Simon
Abstract
Chronic pain is a major health burden in the US, with recent estimates indicating that 1 in 5 adults has chronic pain. However, the exponential increase in opioid-related deaths prompted the development of the 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline to reduce opioid prescribing for chronic pain. 2 This guideline, along with several other efforts to limit opioids, has been associated with decreased opioid prescribing rates across multiple settings and patient populations. though promising, minimizing the use of 1 treatment strategy without ensuring access to other effective and viable alternatives may expose patients to inadequate treatment and worsening of chronic pain. The CDC guideline attempts to address this issue by recommending nonopioid medication and nonpharmacologic pain management as first-line treatments for chronic pain. 2 However, a major question remains: has the reduced use of opioids been accompanied by greater use of alternative treatments for chronic pain?