Placebo beats opioid for acute back and neck pain.

I just finished a book about expectations and their potent effects (including the placebo effect) so this is timely reinforcement for me. With 347 study participants, “The study found that, at six weeks, participants who received opioids didn’t have better pain relief than those taking a placebo. Even short-term use of an opioid provided no benefits in pain reduction and led to a small increase in pain in the medium and long term, compared to the placebo.” ~ learn more