Because physical and emotional pain are related and activate one another, addressing depression, sadness, frustration, irritability, anger, anxiety, and fear has multi-level benefits. By shifting Alcohol and Pain perspective and adjusting one’s thinking, it’s possible to change emotional responses and, in turn, dramatically decrease the level of suffering. Moderate drinking is typically defined by public health agencies as up to one alcoholic drink per day for women and up to two for men. A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

The Importance of Social Connections When Living With Chronic Pain

The researchers found that there was a significant increase in drinking behavior in the group of mice that were dependent on alcohol compared to the non-dependent group. The potential of alcohol to act as a painkiller has been recognized for a long time, and many drinkers report that they consume alcohol to moderate pain. The initial contact points — mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach — are most vulnerable, which is why these areas show some of the strongest links to alcohol-related cancers. But acetaldehyde and alcohol’s other metabolic effects also impact the liver, where it contributes to inflammation and fatty liver disease, and the brain, where it disrupts signaling related to mood, memory and decision making. The studies, however, had some major flaws, including that people’s drinking was generally categorized only by their current behavior.

How Alcohol Affects Chronic Pain: Expert Answers from Our Pain Specialist

If you live with chronic pain and are tempted to find relief with a glass of wine or two, you’re not alone – not by a long shot. According to a recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 28% of individuals with chronic pain self-medicate with alcohol. Major influences underlying the development of chronic pain in Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Use Disorder and pain are complex conditions having multiple additional etiological impacts reviewed elsewhere (Oscar-Berman et al., 2014; Zale et al., 2015). Some ways we can relieve chronic pain include medications, alternative medicine practices, and physical therapy.

• These people — about 8% of the world’s population — often experience facial flushing and a rapid heartbeat after just one drink.
• Over time, AUD can trigger the development of numerous chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, liver disease and some cancers.
• Some people are already at higher risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease because of their genetics or other risky behaviors like tobacco use.

If you’re taking medications to manage your pain, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any reactions that may result from mixing them with alcohol. Some legislators have even proposed adding warning labels on alcohol products — similar to those on nicotine products. Chen likes the idea, given that fewer than half of all American are aware of the link between alcohol and cancer.

For those with an alcohol problem, are non-alcoholic beverages a wise choice?

• It’s not unusual for people with chronic pain to consume alcohol to self-medicate—to drink to help sand down the sharp edges of their pain and turn down the volume of their discomfort.
• Dr. Roberto and her team are continuing to investigate how the inflammatory proteins identified in this study might be used to diagnose or treat alcohol-related chronic pain conditions.
• Among 100 women who have one drink a day, 19 will, and among 100 women who have two drinks a day, about 22 will.
• Follow-up studies are focused on how these molecules might be used to diagnose and more effectively treat alcohol-related chronic pain conditions.
• The prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens are all essential components of the alcoholism/addiction circuitry (Volkow & McLellan, 2016).
• This circuit, which controls top-down modulation of pain, receives inputs arising from multiple regions in the brain, including the hypothalamus, amygdala, and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (Figure 2).

While ALDH2 is the most common inherited variation to affect how well someone can handle alcohol — and its’ long-term risks — it is not the only factor. Some people are already at higher risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease because of their genetics or other risky behaviors like tobacco use. Even over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be harmful when mixed with alcohol, putting strain on the liver and increasing the risk of long-term liver disease. If you’re undergoing treatment or taking any medications for pain, it’s important to talk to your doctor about alcohol use. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and chronic pain are widespread conditions with extensive public health burden. This review seeks to describe neuroanatomical links and major mediating influences between AUD and chronic pain, in the service of identifying factors that predict the risk of chronic pain in precipitating or facilitating AUD.

Mixing alcohol and pain medicines can be harmful

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) are evidence-based approaches that incorporate mindfulness practices. ACT emphasizes building psychological flexibility and emphasizes values-congruent practices, while DBT emphasizes the development of emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills. These approaches transform our relationship with our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, including pain. This can change the quality of our experience in ways that change the subjective experience of pain as well as the suffering precipitated by it. It’s not unusual for people with chronic pain to consume alcohol to self-medicate—to drink to help sand down the sharp edges of their pain and turn down the volume of their discomfort. However, what starts out as something that seems like a solution often becomes part of the problem and can even make chronic pain worse.

Stanford experts discuss the health implications of moderate alcohol consumption and how the guidelines have changed. As pain specialists, we often hear questions about alcohol use and its role in managing chronic pain. Below, Dr. Kyle Young, one of our founding physicians, answers some of the most common ones to help you better understand how alcohol might be affecting your condition, and safer ways to find the relief you deserve. So, it’s not that we’re any less hurt or that alcohol makes the pain go away, it’s that the messaging within our brain and body get disrupted, and we don’t register the signal of pain as well. Even some of the non-dependent mice — 40% of non-dependent male mice and 50% of non-dependent female mice — showed allodynia compared to the alcohol-naïve control group.

Also, poor sleep can intensify pain, reduce your ability to cope with discomfort, and worsen fatigue and mood issues. For people with chronic pain, maintaining good sleep hygiene is essential—and alcohol tends to work against that goal. While a drink may seem like just what the doctor ordered when you’re in pain, it’s actually the opposite. Just one drink can make you feel worse than you did before you took your first sip and lead to health issues – both physically and mentally.

Stanford Medicine research

Conventional medical or alternative treatments for chronic pain are safer, more sustainable options than alcohol use for chronic pain management. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that can temporarily numb pain sensations and induce feelings of relaxation. Initially, this may seem beneficial for pain management; however, research shows that chronic use of alcohol worsens chronic pain. As pain specialists, we understand that people often turn to alcohol because they’re struggling. Whether it’s physical pain, emotional stress, or sleep issues, you’re doing your best to cope.

Alcohol may have temporary, short-term, pain-relieving effects, but it also can have detrimental, long-term effects and actually worsen chronic pain. It not only affects pain directly but can also interact with pain medications, impact sleep, increase stress, and reduce our quality of life. Dr. Roberto and her team are continuing to investigate how the inflammatory proteins identified in this study might be used to diagnose or treat alcohol-related chronic pain conditions. Additionally, the study sheds light on the pathways involved in alcohol withdrawal-related allodynia and alcohol-induced neuropathic pain. This can significantly reduce the stress and suffering connected to chronic pain, which helps calm the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and decrease pain perceptions. Because acetaldehyde accumulates more quickly in people with the ALDH2 variant, they are at an increased risk of alcohol-related diseases, including cancer and heart disease, even at lower levels of alcohol consumption.

A Scripps Research team showed how both alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal can lead to increased pain and hypersensitivity. Recent research has also shown that adults over the age of 50 or 60 show signs of impairment at lower blood alcohol concentrations than younger people. They are also more likely to already be living with chronic diseases, and to be taking prescription medications that might interact poorly with alcohol. Because women metabolize alcohol differently than men, and tend to have smaller bodies, the same amount of alcohol can have a stronger effect for them.

Tips for Dating While Living With Chronic Pain

Let’s work together to find safer, more effective strategies that truly improve your quality of life. It is estimated that 50% to 60% of the total variance in risk for AUD is accounted for by variation in genetic factors (Rietschel & Treutlein, 2013). Twin studies and studies of the offspring of individuals with AUD have shown that family history of AUD mediates the risk of AUD. Children of patients with AUD are at as much as four times higher risk of developing AUD. But controversy exists regarding whether family history is a risk factor through genetic mechanisms, or through environmental mechanisms (e.g., growing up in a household with parents with AUD), or through the interaction of genes and environment. Irrespective of the mechanism involved, family history of AUD is a profound risk for AUD.