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Study shows experts divided on opioid use for chronic pain

By Sophie Kaelble

Posted February 24, 2025

Prescription bottle for Oxycodone tablets and pills on glass table

Researchers interviewed 28 opioid safety experts, and while a third of them supported long-term opioid usage, just as many argued to discontinue it. (steheap/Adobe Stock)

Experts disagree on whether opioids should be used to treat chronic pain, according to a new study by the Regenstrief Institute of Indianapolis, which does medical research.

Researchers interviewed 28 opioid safety experts, and while a third of them supported long-term opioid usage, just as many argued to discontinue it.

Kurt Kroenke, a research scientist at Regenstrief, co-authored the study and said harms from over-prescription caused this divide.

“There was an over-prescribing of opiates,” he said. “They are effective, and so they have a role, but they had too much of a role for a while.”

Kroenke, who’s also on the faculty of the IU School of Medicine, said opioids ease pain, but long-term use carries risks. He said about a tenth of patients develop opioid use disorder, and a smaller fraction overdose. But more than half of the experts said suddenly ending treatment has risks too, such as withdrawal symptoms and in rare cases suicidal thoughts.

Kroenke mentioned a variety of alternative treatments, such as other medicines, exercise, yoga, or talk therapies, but he said none of those works for everyone.

“Incorporating the patient in the decision, and what they think … might work best for them, is probably very important,” he said.

Kroenke emphasized the importance of treating pain, since it’s a leading cause of disability.