Using medications such as ibuprofen and steroids to relieve short-term pain may increase the chances of chronic pain, a new study suggests. Findings from the small study challenge common methods of treating pain and indicate that it may be time to reconsider how pain is treated.
Normal recovery from a painful injury involves inflammation - the body's natural response to injury and infection - and new research shows that blocking inflammation with medication can lead to more difficult pain to treat. Inflammation can have a protective effect and over-reducing it can be harmful. In other words, inflammation can prevent acute pain from turning into chronic pain.
The researchers said lower back pain was the most commonly reported form of chronic pain - pain that persists for longer than expected after injury - and resulted in massive economic and medical costs each year. Most patients receive standard treatments such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and corticosteroids. But these drugs are only somewhat effective, and little is known about why acute pain - which begins suddenly in response to something specific, such as an injury - resolves in some patients but persists as chronic pain in others.
The researchers said the findings were supported by a separate analysis of 500,000 people in the UK's Biobank study which showed that those taking anti-inflammatory drugs to treat their pain were more likely to have pain for two to 10 years Later. This effect was not seen in people taking paracetamol or antidepressants.
However, it is important to note that this is only a study and more research is needed to confirm and investigate further.
The findings are published in Science Translational Medicine.
