Douglas P. Gross, Yagesh Bhambhani, Mark J. Haykowsky, Saifudin Rashiq
This study axamines the impact of acute opioid administration on work-related exercise performance in patients with chronic back pain. Subjects performed a continuous lifting and lowering test to voluntary fatigue at a load equivalent to 33% of their predetermined maximal lifting load twice: Once after receiving a single intravenous dose of 1 ?g/kg fentanyl (a narcotic analgesic) and once after saline placebo.
This article presents the results of a clinical trial showing that acute opioid administration improves work-related exercise performance in individuals with chronic back pain. Longer trials of the effectiveness of opioid analgesia as an adjunct to functional restoration programs are recommended.
The Journal of Pain, 2008, 9(9), 856-862