A pediatrics professor with the University of Alberta says if your child has suffered a minor sprain or broken bone, the best pain medication to give them might just be your everyday Ibuprofen – nothing stronger. Samina Ali’s No OUCH study, released on Thursday, involved 699 children, all of whom had musculoskeletal injuries like broken arms and sprained ankles with moderate to severe pain but without need for surgery or hospital admission. What she found was that over-the-counter pain meds like Tylenol or Ibuprofen had the exact same effect in children’s pain management as mixing those medications with strong opioids like Dilaudid. “Adding one of the stronger by-mouth oral medications we have didn’t make the pain any better than Ibuprofen alone,” she told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday. The original hypothesis, she said, was obviously that opioids would mask pain better. Instead, she says researchers found they had the exact same effects but came with an added risk of side effects or addiction. “Children’s pain matters. We want to improve their pain so they can get back to their activities, their normal lives … When you break a bone or have a sprain, the biggest problem is swelling. So if you get that swelling under control, we don’t need to add on all these extra drugs that bring extra side effects.” Ali did add that bigger concerns, like a broken femur or back surgery, were absolved of her study’s findings as they would require intravenous opioids to manage so much pain. The research feels especially pertinent to her given the rise of opioid-related deaths across both Edmonton and many parts of Canada, which she said can make parents and doctors alike hesitant to use oral opioids despite wanting to manage pain. The Government of Canada website notes that using prescribed oral opioids is a legitimate way to manage pain but can include side effects like drowsiness, constipation, difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting, headaches and more. Long-term, using prescribed opioids can result in physical dependence, substance use disorders, worsening pain and liver damage. “Parents are really smart and savvy now. They listen, they read, and they’re asking and questioning us as health-care professionals as to, ‘Does my child really need this?’” Ali said. “I think in the case of fractures and sprains, we can say yes, they need Advil, yes they need other comfort measures … but does adding morphine or Dilaudid to their pain care program make it better? The answer for simple fractures and sprains is no.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Dave Mitchell
