Papers of the Week

Spinal pain is the leading worldwide cause of patient-years lived with chronic pain and disability. While opioids are well documented as an effective short-term pain-relieving medication, more than a few weeks of treatment may result in a diminishing clinical effect as well as the development of addictive behavior. Even though opioid addiction in pain patients is a major problem commonly experienced in the clinic, no reference material exists on the scope of long-term problems in novel opioid users and the link to clinical outcomes.