# Prevention of Opioid Misuse and Abuse Through Effective Pain Management in Patients With Chronic Pain: An Umbrella Systematic Review

## TL;DR

This review explores non-opioid pain management strategies for chronic pain to reduce opioid misuse and abuse.

## Contribution

The study systematically evaluates non-opioid interventions and multidisciplinary approaches to prevent opioid overuse.

## Key findings

- Spinal cord stimulation showed positive outcomes in reducing opioid use for chronic low back pain.
- Multidisciplinary care teams and pain rehabilitation improve patient function and reduce opioid reliance.
- Most reviewed studies were short-term, highlighting a need for longer research on chronic pain management.

## Abstract

Chronic pain is a condition that frequently affects patients and communities. There are several treatment options available, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. Opioid prescriptions have increased over the past few years, and long-term use of opioids leads to an increased risk of opioid misuse and death due to overdose. This systematic review discusses the effective pain management options in chronic non-cancer pain patients that may help prevent opioid use and misuse. We searched PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), and Google Scholar for relevant literature. The different results were screened by the application of eligibility criteria, and 15 papers were finalized for review. These papers discussed the different pain management options, physician guidelines, and efforts to reduce opioid misuse, the importance of pill counting, and the involvement of multidisciplinary care teams in pain management. However, most of these papers were reviews over a short duration. The effects of emotions on chronic pain have been discussed along with the multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation treatment options that have improved patients' overall function. The reviewed research demonstrated positive outcomes of spinal cord stimulation in chronic low back pain, thereby reducing opioid use. However, further research is needed to explore more treatment options for chronic pain that can adequately reduce pain and prevent opioid use.