Commonly prescribed painkiller tramadol is ‘not that effective’ after all at relieving chronic pain, experts have warned. 

Opioids like tramadol, can provide highly effective pain relief when used in the short-term. 

However, doctors have previously cautioned that patients enduring long waits for NHS operations are taking painkillers for dangerously extended durations, leading to dependency.

Now, Danish researchers have discovered the drug — which is particularly popular in the US — had a ‘limited’ impact on chronic pain.

The researchers, who examined the health records of over 6,500 patients, also identified an increased risk of encountering severe side effects, including heart disease.

Experts today said tramadol’s potential harms ‘likely outweighed’ its ‘limited benefits’.

In their publication in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine, they further contended that ‘tramadol and other opioids should be minimized to the greatest extent possible’.

In the study, the researchers from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, assessed the results of 19 clinical trials involving patients with chronic pain.

Opioids like tramadol can offer highly effective pain relief when used short-term. Yet, doctors have previously cautioned that patients waiting months for NHS surgeries are consuming the painkillers for alarmingly lengthy periods.

Five trials looked at the impact of tramadol on neuropathic pain, while nine focused on osteoarthritis.

Four, meanwhile, looked at chronic low back pain and one focused on fibromyalgia. 

Most people were taking the drug as tablets, and length of treatment ranged from two to 16 weeks.

Pooled data analysis showed that while tramadol eased pain, the effect was small and below what would be considered clinically effective.

The researchers observed a doubling of the risk of harm associated with tramadol compared to placebo drugs, predominantly driven by a higher incidence of chest pain, heart disease, and congestive heart failure.

Some patients also suffered nausea, dizziness, constipation and sleepiness.

The researchers concluded: ‘Approximately 60 million individuals worldwide experience the addictive effects of opioids.

‘In 2019, drug usage accounted for approximately 600,000 deaths, with nearly 80 percent of these deaths tied to opioids and about 25 percent stemming from opioid overdose.’

Responding to the findings, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘GPs understand how debilitating chronic pain can be and the serious impact it can have on the lives of our patients.

‘GPs in the UK have been advised to limit, reduce and preferably stop tramadol prescribing for chronic pain and not to start tramadol for new patients with this condition.

‘Treating chronic pain can often be challenging given the underlying reason for the pain is often unclear, making it hard to target treatment.

‘As with any condition, GPs will consider the various physical, psychological, and social factors potentially impacting on a patient’s health when coming up with a treatment plan, in conversation with them.

‘Part of this process will also involve exploring non-pharmaceutical options to supporting patients manage their pain, but access to interventions that could help, such as pain clinics, is often patchy across the country.’

It comes research last year found that the NHS had dished out almost £1billion-worth of addictive opioid painkillers over five years.

According to figures collected by Oxford University’s OpenPrescribing.net, the health service doled out £90.1million of the drugs in 2019, rising to £186.2million last year and a projected £189million in 2024. 

The Royal College of Surgeons has also warned that hundred of thousands of patients are ‘continuing to live in pain on waiting lists’. 

And many are reliant on powerful drugs to get by, leaving them at risk of developing an addiction that continues even after their operation.