This is the CDC’s official, updated clinical practice guideline for doctors in the United States on when and how to prescribe opioid medications for pain. It covers acute, subacute and chronic pain management in adults and updates the agency’s earlier, widely referenced guidance.
What was studied?
The guideline set out recommendations for prescribing opioids across acute, subacute and chronic pain, covering dose, duration, and when non-drug and non-opioid treatments should be tried first, based on a review of the evidence and risks around opioid use.
What did they find?
For acute pain, the guideline recommends the lowest effective dose of immediate-release opioids for the shortest duration, only after non-opioid options are considered. For subacute or chronic pain, non-opioid therapies are explicitly preferred as the starting point, with realistic risks and benefits discussed before opioids begin.
Why it matters
This is official US public health guidance that directly supports non-drug approaches, such as chiropractic care and physical therapy, as the recommended first step for pain, ahead of opioid medication.
Why we included it
It illustrates a wider shift in pain management policy: non-drug care is increasingly positioned as the first option to try, with medication reserved for when it is genuinely needed, not a default starting point.
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What was studied?
The guideline set out recommendations for prescribing opioids across acute, subacute and chronic pain, covering dose, duration, and when non-drug and non-opioid treatments should be tried first, based on a review of the evidence and risks around opioid use.
What did they find?
For acute pain, the guideline recommends the lowest effective dose of immediate-release opioids for the shortest duration, only after non-opioid options are considered. For subacute or chronic pain, non-opioid therapies are explicitly preferred as the starting point, with realistic risks and benefits discussed before opioids begin.
Why it matters
This is official US public health guidance that directly supports non-drug approaches, such as chiropractic care and physical therapy, as the recommended first step for pain, ahead of opioid medication.
Why we included it
It illustrates a wider shift in pain management policy: non-drug care is increasingly positioned as the first option to try, with medication reserved for when it is genuinely needed, not a default starting point.