Pain medication can be very effective for back pain, but choosing the right medication for your specific pain type and cause is important. Pain medication is typically most effective for acute pain and less effective for chronic pain. This is because opioids are prescribed for short-term pain management and can be habit-forming if taken over a long period.
Today I have a quick video interview for you on the effectiveness of the medication.
I was at a fitness mastermind meeting, chatting with Dr. Jon Tait about how effective medication is.
It shocked me when I heard the number.
Enjoy the interview.
Rick Kaselj, MS
I am down here in sunny and windy San Diego. And I am at a Fitness Mastermind meeting, and I’ve got another interview for you; I think this is like the thirteenth one. Tried to keep grabbing people from the meeting, taking them outside, and doing a quick video with them.
I am excited about this video because Jon and I were talking about medication effectiveness the last time we met in Costa Mesa, California, in March.
I will get Jon to introduce himself, and he will talk about what level of effectiveness is okay for a medication to have to go on the market.
Dr. Jon Tait: For those who don’t know me, and there may be a lot out there, my day job is being a physician, sports medicine, and rehabilitation specialist. I also run a site called ThePainFreeDiet.com, where we work to educate people on the best combination of lifestyle changes through exercise prescription like Rick does, dietary changes, sleepy hygiene, stress reduction, all these things we know that are very powerful interventions for getting through an injury and recovering from a painful episode and just reaching that optimal level of function and performance, that’s what I do.
The question Rick laid out was when we talked about medication, usually an intervention. Say we will use the concept of pain medications as we typically use in my practice at certain points is what I call a bridge treatment.
If somebody comes in with a very painful episode, we need to get their pain under control so that they can work with somebody like Rick, do the exercises they need to, and over time, as they heal, they come off the medications.
But the point of what we are talking about a couple of months back is — What is a successful medication trial that we know?
When they are developing these medications, you want to get them out to the marketplace. How effective is this medication?
Let’s say a sugar pill or a placebo, we think in our minds that these are wonderful things and it should help 75% or 80%, not probably 100% but maybe 75% or 80%, of patients who get these medications will have a dramatic impact. It’s much less; it’s about in the order of 30%.
So 30% improvement for that pain they are going for that medication. And our example here, pain reduction, gets a room of executives, high-fives, popping off champagne corks, and slapping each other on the back.
How Effective Is Pain Medication?
Pain medication can be very effective if you take the correct dosage and type. If you are not taking enough medication or choosing the right kind, you might not be satisfied with the results. When choosing which medication to take, you should always consider the potential side effects of each option.
They do have a role, but I hope people see that the pain isn’t an equal thing or the role that they may put start and back and is the only treatment to get out of pain, so just a small portion of that.
Rick Kaselj: Awesome. I think that’s fascinating information. I didn’t know that. It’s v, and insightful to get that bit of information.
Jon, where can people get more information about you?
Dr. Jon Tait: ThePainFreeDiet.com, it’s going to be our home page, forgetting what we feel is the best information into the hands of people for dietary approaches to treating pain, and programs like Rick’s, of course, will have links to his information too.
But for me, performance is also the older adult that just needs to get out to their mailbox. Or they end up on the floor and have to get off it. Rick and I have a passion for reading thousands of journal articles. We want a site where people can go and get information.
Side Effects of Pain Medication
When taking medication, weighing the benefits against the potential side effects is important. Every medication has a “risk-to-benefit ratio,” with positive and negative effects. Of the most common pain medications, the most common side effects include nausea, constipation, drowsiness, and headache. Depending on your pain medication, these side effects may be more or less severe. You should consult your doctor immediately if you experience any of the following side effects. These side effects may indicate a more serious problem, such as a potential allergic reaction or heart attack.
Rick Kaselj: Passion and the sickness.
Dr. Jon Tait: And a little bit of the sickness but then distilling that information down into very usable points, so you don’t have to do all that reading yourself. That’s really what we feel about that site. It will be a place for people to find that great content and information.
Rick Kaselj: Awesome. Thank you very much, Jon.
I have a more thorough interview with Jon that I had done with him talking about Pain-Free Diet. Also, his partner Nick Pineault, I interviewed with him, so you can go on the blog and listen to those interviews. Make sure to swing by exercisesforinjuries.com.
If you watch this on YouTube, head above and hit the subscribe link. You will end up getting videos like this every couple of days where I talk with experts like Jon about the injuries and exercises.
Take care and bye-bye.
Rick Kaselj, MS.
