Episode 164: Treating Pain, Treating Addiction

Americans are more likely to die of an opioid overdose than of a car accident. But even as national attention has shed light on this crisis, opioid addiction remains a difficult problem to solve. Professor Peggy Compton lays out how doctors can help patients suffering from chronic pain without turning to opioids, what treatments actually work for people who do develop an opioid addiction, and how to encourage wider use of these evidence-based practices.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Compton’s SSN brief, How to Win America’s Fight Against the Opioid Epidemic
• Read her research paper, Providing Chronic Pain Management in the “Fifth Vital Sign” Era