To date there are few research studies examining opioids in the treatment of SCI pain. There is a substantial body of research investigating the benefits of opioid analgesics in the treatment of non-cancer chronic pain and some of those studies examined the impact of opioids on neuropathic pain. There are no studies employing opioid analgesics in post-SCI pain. Furlan et al. (2006) conducted a meta-analysis of effectiveness and side-effects of opioid analgesics for chronic non-cancer pain. Their meta-analysis found that opioids reduced pain and improved functional outcomes when compared to placebo for both nociceptive and neuropathic pain syndromes. Strong opioids (oxydone and morphine) were significantly superior to naproxen and nortriptyline for pain relief but not functional outcomes. Weak opioids (propylene, tramadol and codeine) did not significantly do better than NSAIDS or tricyclic anti-depressants for either pain relief or functional outcomes (Furlan et al. 2006). The authors found that clinically, only constipation and nausea were significantly more common with opioids. The big concern with opioids is of course addiction or opioid abuse. Unfortunately, as Furlan et al. (2006) notes in their meta-analysis, the existing randomized trials were not designed to evaluate addiction.