Study links chronic low back pain and illicit drug use in patients in community setting

Adults with chronic low back pain in the United States were more likely to use marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine and were also more likely to have a current prescription for pain-relieving opioid analgesics than adults without chronic low back pain, according to investigators.

However, the nature of the relationship between chronic low back pain (LBP) and illicit drug use warrants further investigation, they noted. The study, which was published in Spine, is among the first to focus on rates of illicit drug use among Americans with chronic LBP, according to a press release from the journal.

Source: Healio

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