Opioids for back, knee, and hip pain? A chat with Dr. Erin Krebs
You have undoubtedly heard about the opioid crisis. It is a near daily part of my life since treating pain is a hefty part of what most doctors do. In addition, I am fortunate to work in an academic health setting so I am surrounded by researchers and teachers. Just this week, one of my friends and colleagues, Dr. Charlie Reznikoff was in Washington DC where he testified about opioids to members of Congress. So you might say I’m surrounded by smart people on this issue.
In this post, I want to draw your attention to some new information about treating arthritis pain. A new study was recently published in JAMA (one of the most respected journals in existence) which concluded that for chronic back pain and arthritis pain of the hips and knees, opioids are no better than other remedies.
Let me say that startling conclusion again: opioids are no better than non-opioid treatments at relieving low back, knee, and hip pain. There is NO advantage, and plenty of risk, in using opioids to treat these chronic pain conditions.
This is big news. For me, it is just a little bigger because the lead author of the study is a Minneapolis physician from my medical school class, Dr. Erin Krebs. Dr. Krebs is a leading researcher in this area and I may add, a terrific doctor and person. To her, I say, well done! To learn more about Dr. Krebs, check out her site from the VA here. You can also learn more about her from the University of Minnesota Medical School.
I reached out to Dr. Krebs and she graciously responded to some of my questions about her research. I offer her insights to you below. This is a rare chance to hear from a physician-scientist, uncluttered from what you may find elsewhere on the Internet. Often people ask me what where to get reliable information on health issues. On this issue, this is as reliable as it gets. I’ll include a couple links as well, including one to an audio interview with Dr. Krebs. Read on.
read more…
Quick tips: tremors, blood pressure, constipation
Hey, everybody.
Some of my most popular posts are these Quick Tips in which I do relatively brief answers to health topics raised by listeners to the Healthy Matters radio broadcasts.
This time, I’ll cover these three topics from actual listener questions.
- What are essential tremors? [VIDEOS]
- Blood pressure variation throughout the day. [VIDEO]
- Ideas on treating constipation.
New feature: Dr. Hilden in the News
Hey.
Just a brief post to call your attention to a new feature right here on MyHealthyMatters. Since I do a fair amount of media work – including TV, radio, online, and in print, I thought it might be good to do a collection and put links all in one place.
It’s right there at the top of the page: called Dr. Hilden in the News.
In putting this together I noticed that much of my media appearances involve influenza. Guess that’s what the media wants to talk about!
That being said, there are a few other links on the Dr. Hilden in the News page that I want to call your attention to:
Photo by Holger, Ellgaard
AirTalk™ on Southern California public radio. This is an 18-minute discussion about whether you really need an annual physical. It aired just last month and you can listen to the audio.
10 things to ask your doctor on your next visit. I did this print interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Not an exhaustive list but just some things I thought may help equip you for your next clinic visit.
One piece I’m quite proud of is from 2010 when I was interviewed by The New York Times about end-of-life conversations. I really encourage you to read this one.
All these and more available in Dr. Hilden in the News. Link right at the top of this page.
-David
