Why not take stronger (narcotic) pain medications?
Most patients do not benefit from narcotic pain medication. Through anti-inflammatory medications, exercise programs, and proper rest, most patients limit their pain. For patients with chronic pain, narcotic pain medication is addictive and patients become tolerant of it, requiring greater dosages over time. In addition, narcotics can impede the body’s ability to make its own internal pain medicine (endorphins). Thus narcotic medications may be hazardous and ineffective.
