Study: Non-Opioid Pain Killers As Effective As Opioids In Reducing Some Pain

DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - As the opioid epidemic continues to grow, healthcare providers continue to struggle with the best ways to manage pain.

A new study may help provide answers says WWJ Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites.

Non-opioid pain killers work just as well as opioids in reducing arm or leg pain according to a new study published in JAMA.

The study looked at more than 400 adults who came to the emergency department for arm or leg pain due to a sprain, strain or fracture.

Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group got an opioid pill to relieve pain, while the other group got a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen --better known as Advil and Tylenol.

After two hours, doctors asked the patients to rate their pain on a scale from zero to 10.

The researchers say patients in both groups reported the same reduction in pain.

More studies are planned.