A 2024 report from the American Association for Cancer Research concluded that more than 5% of all cancers in the U.S. are attributable to alcohol use. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of cancer, but the risks start with any alcohol consumption. “In the past 10 years or so, in my practice, I’ve added alcohol to the list of substances I recommend my patients either reduce or eliminate from their diet,” said Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine and director of the Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices.

Using alcohol as a pain reliever can lead to many issues (which we’ll go into more detail on later). What started out as an injury that just needed time to heal can become a lingering and chronic issue. The 2025 Global Year will examine pain management and education beyond low- and middle-income countries to include low-income settings and priority populations. This indicates that the inflammatory pathways involved are different and could potentially lead to the development of targeted therapies in the future. It’s almost as if life itself is inviting us to embrace difficulty—not as punishment but as a design feature.

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• On top of that, our overall health will improve so we can enjoy a better quality of life.
• Despite this, using alcohol to alleviate pain places people at risk for a number of harmful health consequences.
• Yes, alcohol can cause nerve damage and lead to chronic inflammation, increasing the risk of chronic pain.

A systematic search found 18 eligible experimental studies, involving a combined total of 404 healthy participants. All those taking part were exposed to painful experimental stimulation after being allocated to an alcohol or a no-alcohol control condition. Pain was assessed in a variety of ways, including pain ratings (0-10) and pain threshold (the point Alcohol and Pain at which pain is first experienced). Studies were generally of good methodological quality; many reported randomisation of participants to conditions, precise measurements of blood alcohol and use of placebo groups who were given negligible levels of alcohol to reproduce its taste and smell.

The Importance of Social Connections When Living With Chronic Pain

Impaired cognition can modulate the cognitive-evaluative dimension of pain experiences, both as a reinforcing factor for alcohol-seeking behavior (as alcohol is known to alleviate pain) and also in how pain is perceived. Additionally, physiological cues accompanying alcohol consumption can influence drinkers through modulating their expectancy. It should be noted that this model does not rule out or ignore the role of biological factors in the development of chronic pain, but instead emphasizes the significance of reinforcement and learning in the development and maintenance of chronic pain (Gatzounis, Schrooten, Crombez, & Vlaeyen, 2012). For instance, it is likely that dopamine release in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (precipitated by consuming alcohol) is responsible for relief from acute pain. In turn, relief from acute pain can be a positive reinforcing factor for maintenance of the pain state as it will lead to reward (alcohol intake and resulting dopamine release), with the alcohol itself acting then as a negative reinforcing factor. Approximately 15 million Americans suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence (National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2015 (“National survey on drug use and health – SAMHSA,” 2015), and an estimated 116 million American adults suffer from chronic pain (Egli, Koob, & Edwards, 2012; Grant et al., 2004).

Using Alcohol to Relieve Your Pain: What Are the Risks?

One of the important risk factors for relapse to drinking and for the development of AUD and other substance use disorders, is impulsivity. Impulsivity is multidimensional construct referring to a predisposition for individuals to react quickly in response to an internal or external stimulus, without consideration of the possible negative consequences (Lejuez et al., 2010). While not a prominent trait in chronic pain patients, impulsivity may be especially relevant to individuals with AUD who suffer from chronic pain. These individuals would be in a situation that is analogous to what has been described for opioid analgesic misuse risk in chronic, low-back pain patients who had been prescribed opioid analgesics (Marino et al., 2013). The experience of physical pain also has been reported to be elevated in alcohol dependent patients having high levels of impulsivity, with physical pain being an independent correlate of both subjectively reported and objectively measured levels of impulsivity (Jakubczyk, Brower, et al., 2016). In particular, there seems to be a role for an attention dimension of impulsivity that represents heightened distractibility and compromised cognitive control, both in AUD (Jakubczyk, Brower, et al., 2016) and in opioid analgesic misuse in chronic pain patients (Marino et al., 2013).

He has previously worked as a consultant statistician in the area of patient-reported outcomes in the US. He enjoys research examining the neurophysiological foundations of pain and exploring the potential for technology in pain management. In the meantime, while chronic pain should always be evaluated by a medical professional, there are many options for medication/opioid-based treatment, drawing on complementary and alternative approaches.

Opioids in particular may not be appropriate for managing pain in individuals with AUD, as they probably engage the same brain reward pathways as in AUD. Indeed, there is evidence for the involvement of the endogenous cannabinoid system in the pharmacological and behavioral effects of alcohol (Perra et al., 2005). However, gabapentin, a GABA analogue anticonvulsant medication that also is used to treat pain, has been shown to have the benefit of reducing cravings and to significantly delay relapse in individuals with AUD (Brower et al., 2008). When levels of inflammatory proteins were measured, the researchers discovered that while inflammation pathways were elevated in both dependent and non-dependent mice, specific molecules were only increased in dependent mice. It also indicates which inflammatory proteins may be useful as potential targets for intervention to combat alcohol-related pain. Follow-up studies are focused on how these molecules might be used to diagnose and more effectively treat alcohol-related chronic pain conditions.

How to Acquire Gratitude When Living With Chronic Pain

Research suggests that alcohol has a pain-dampening effect and can relieve hyperalgesia — increased sensitivity to pain — even at nonintoxicating doses. People with alcohol use disorder are unable to stop or control their alcohol consumption, even when it causes problems to their health, relationships, and work. Chen’s research has shown how alcohol affects people of East Asian descent who have a genetic variation, ALDH2, which interferes with their ability to metabolize acetaldehyde. These people — about 8% of the world’s population — often experience facial flushing and a rapid heartbeat after just one drink. Surgeon General’s Advisory reported that among 100 women who have less than one drink per week, about 17 will develop an alcohol-related cancer. Among 100 women who have one drink a day, 19 will, and among 100 women who have two drinks a day, about 22 will.

• It also opens the door to more support, whether that means adjusting medications, connecting you with resources, or just having a conversation about what you’re going through.
• Alcohol might seem like a quick fix, but its role in the cycle of pain is far from simple.
• 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.
• Pain perception is a subjective, complex, and distributed process that involves multiple structures involved in sensory, emotional, and cognitive processing that interact together concurrently to form the perceived pain experience (Chapman, 2005).

Stafford and his colleagues said the choice to tip back a beer or forgo alcohol — like many lifestyle decisions — should involve weighing the risks and benefits of your behaviors. But they think the public should be made more aware of those risks, which include an increased risk of cancer from drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. If you’re struggling with chronic pain and using alcohol to cope, reach out to a pain specialist today.

Factors including age, genetics, body size and existing health conditions all influence how alcohol affects a person. Even in people who are not struggling with alcohol use disorder, drinking alcohol can affect other psychiatric conditions. For decades, studies suggested that moderate alcohol intake could protect the heart, reduce diabetes risk or even help you live longer. Alcohol can interact negatively with many pain medications, including opioids, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, and anti-inflammatories. These combinations can increase the risk of dangerous side effects like drowsiness, dizziness, liver damage, and even respiratory depression, which can be life-threatening.

For pain ratings, pain was rated at around 5/10 in the control condition, which was reduced by around 25% after administration of alcohol. A dose-response relationship was also observed, with increasing levels of alcohol resulting in increasing analgesia (with alcohol dosages ranging from the equivalent of around half a pint of lager to three pints). They also found increased levels of IL-6 and activation of ERK44/42 in mice with alcohol withdrawal-related allodynia, but not in mice with alcohol-induced neuropathic pain. When Roberto’s group then measured levels of inflammatory proteins in the animals, they discovered that while inflammation pathways were elevated in both dependent and non-dependent animals, specific molecules were only increased in dependent mice. It also suggests which inflammatory proteins may be useful as drug targets to combat alcohol-related pain. Given the general level of interest in this area, there were fewer studies than we expected.

Of those, the majority (79%) of the individuals identified self-medication for pain as the reason for heavy alcohol use. The analgesic effects of alcohol on pain perception have been measured in a variety of ways, including examining pain threshold, tolerance, and pain ratings (e.g., intensity). Regarding ratings of discomfort versus intensity of pain, alcohol alleviates discomfort at lower doses and to a greater extent than intensity, suggesting the effect of alcohol may vary across components of pain. In addition, pain is influenced by alcohol dose and blood alcohol concentration (BAC), with the magnitude of the analgesic effects increasing at higher BACs (Cutter et al., 1976; Gustafson & Kallmen, 1988; Horn-Hofmann et al., 2015; Stewart, Finn, & Pihl, 1995; Thompson, Oram, Correll, Tsermentseli, & Stubbs, 2017). Studies also have shown that alcohol has less of an impact on pain as the BAC drops, due to metabolism, excretion, or evaporation (Duarte, McNeill, Drummond, & Tiplady, 2008; Horn-Hofmann et al., 2015; Zacny, Camarillo, Sadeghi, & Black, 1998).

In people with nerve pain, even moderate alcohol use can damage the nerves further and intensify symptoms. And for those dealing with back or spine issues, alcohol-related inflammation or muscle relaxation can sometimes increase the risk of injury or instability. Pain perception is a subjective, complex, and distributed process that involves multiple structures involved in sensory, emotional, and cognitive processing that interact together concurrently to form the perceived pain experience (Chapman, 2005).

Decades ago, large surveys of adults began showing an association between how much alcohol someone drank and their risk of death. People who said they drank heavily had an increased risk, but those who drank nothing at all also had an increased risk compared with those who drank one or two servings of alcohol per day. Alcohol can dull pain temporarily, which is why people usually reach for a drink when they’re hurting. It can relax muscles, lower stress in the moment and even trigger a short-lived mood boost.