Good article from the National Pain Foundation. It debukes a lot of myths about the the use of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain.
This is from the article:
Under-treatment or Poor Treatment
For many years, both the medical community and the public feared that the use of pain medications would lead to massive amounts of addiction in patients. As a result, patients most often were under-treated or not treated for pain. They were told to “be strong and bear it.” This poor treatment resulted in much needless suffering for our patients. More and more health professionals now understand that pain must be treated to improve function and quality of life in those who live with chronic pain conditions.
Research
Pain research over the last 20 years has now shown us that under-treated pain can lead to pathological changes in the nerves (the peripheral nervous system) and the spinal cord and brain, which make up the central nervous system. These changes result in pain becoming a chronic disease, with consequences such as
* long-term pain,
* increased levels of pain and disability,
* decreased ability to concentrate and difficulty with memory,
* significant levels of depression and anxiety,
* inability to function at home or work,
* poor sleep, and
an increase in other problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, and fibromyalgia, all of which tend to become chronic problems.
http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org/MyTreatment/News_RealReasonWhyPainMedicationUseonRise.asp
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