The increasing use of prescription opioids by soldiers for chronic pain management has raised concerns regarding their future health.

1. Opioids Use among Returning Soldiers Studied
The increasing use of prescription opioids by soldiers for chronic pain
management has raised concerns regarding their future health.
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2. Soldiers returning from war have
been found to consume too much
prescription opioids as part of
chronic pain management. The
number has been found to be
significantly higher than among
civilians. The survey was conducted
on an infantry brigade that was
just back from Afghanistan. It was
revealed that 44% of the brigade’s
soldiers were experiencing pain for
around three months at least, and
15% of them had been on opioid
medication the past month.
Considering civilians, it is
estimated that 26% of civilians
experience chronic pain while only
4% of them use opioids.
Rising Prescripion of Opioids a
Cause for Concern
One of America’s rising health concerns has been the
prescription of opioids such as hydrocodone and
oxycodone which have been reported to bring about
increased overdose deaths as well as addiction rates.
It is estimated that over 16,000 people die each year
from opioid overdose, and this is a quadruple increase
from 1999. While it has been shown that these drugs
can treat short-term pain from moderate to severe,
they are being used for chronic pain though the
question as to whether they are more beneficial than
risky is yet to be convincingly answered.

3. Combat Injuries Greater Contributors to Chronic Pain
Three months after returning from Afghanistan and some from Iraq, army researchers
conducted their survey on 2,597 soldiers and discovered that injuries in combat were the
greatest contributors to chronic pain. 1,131 of the 2,597 soldiers reported chronic pain,
and close to half of them considered it mild while 14% categorized the pain they
experienced as severe. Most of the soldiers who reported chronic pain were taking some
over-the-counter medication while around 259 soldiers had opioid prescription. Most of
these 259 soldiers revealed that they used opioids for several days in the previous month
while 60 of them had consumed opioids almost every day.
It was also noted that chronic pain rates were higher in soldiers with cases of depression
and post-traumatic stress disorder though it did not seem to directly increase the use of
opioids.

4. Are Opioids Misused?
It is debatable whether this use of
opioids can be classified as misuse.
Experts believe more data is needed to
ascertain this. According to research
conducted by RTI International of
North Carolina, more than half the
patients having chronic pain unrelated
to cancer are prescribed opioid
medication every year which is a rate
similar to that in the other health
systems though lower in the health
system of the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). It was also noted that
veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars were less likely to be prescribed
opioids than other VA patients.
Adverse Events Prevention
The Defense Department has worked to
prevent adverse events happening as a
result of prescription narcotics. Opioids
have been included in random drug testing
and the Army has moved to place frequent
users under one healthcare provider.
Researchers of the study have stressed that
pain management improvements are vital
in the armed forces to prevent the risk of
disability in soldiers. The big danger is that
the use of opioids brings the risk of
functional impairment in the armed forces.
Chronic pain management as well as opioid
use must be handled more effectively.

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