New research has discovered that retired NFL players abuse painkillers more than the general population. The research, from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, found that the physical damage that occurs during a professional football player's career often results in long-term pain. This ultimately contributes to the continued
use and abuse of painkillers like Vicodin and Oxycontin.
The published study asked 644 former NFL players who had retired between 1979 and 2006. The researchers questioned the athletes about their overall health, level of pain, history of injuries, concussions and use of
prescription pain medication. The study learned that 7 percent of the former football players were currently using
painkilling opioid medications. That figure is more than four times the rate of opioid use in the general population.
"We asked about medications they used during their playing careers and whether they used the drugs as prescribed or whether they had ever taken them in a different way or for different reasons," said Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. "More than half used opioids during their NFL careers, and 71 percent had misused the drugs. That is, they had used the medication for a different reason or in a different way than it was prescribed, or taken painkillers that were prescribed for someone else."
The study made a clear conclusion that players who retire from the NFL continue to live with chronic pain for many years afterwards.
"The rate of current, severe pain is staggering," said Cottler.
