New Orleans [US]: According to a research, wearing special green spectacles for many hours a day decreases pain-related anxiety and may help minimise the need for opioids to manage severe pain in fibromyalgia patients and maybe others who endure chronic pain. The study was presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2022 annual meeting.
"Our research found that certain wavelengths of green light stimulate the pathways in the brain that help manage pain," said Padma Gulur, M.D., lead author of the study and executive vice chair of Duke Anesthesiology and Duke Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "There is an urgent need for additional treatments to reduce the use of opioids among patients with fibromyalgia and other types of chronic pain, and green eyeglasses could provide an easy-to-use, non-drug option."
Few alternatives to opioids - especially non-drug options - exist for patients with severe and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, which causes pain all over the body. Fibromyalgia affects about 4 million U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pain and anxiety share similar biological mechanisms. Additionally, fear of pain exacerbates anxiety, often leading to increased opioid use, said Dr. Gulur.