During his 12 seasons as a fullback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-foot-1, 250-pound Mike Alstott was known as "The A-Train" -- a punishing runner and blocker and fan favorite.
From 1996 to 2007, Alstott racked up an impressive National Football League resume: 5,088 yards rushing; 71 touchdowns (the most in team history); six Pro Bowls; and a Super Bowl championship ring in 2002.
But the awards and accolades came with a price that's very familiar to many Americans: debilitating aches and injuries and a whole lot of pain medication.
"One hundred million Americans suffer from chronic pain," said Dr. Anita Gupta, associate professor of anesthesiology at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. "It's a really staggering figure that's been rising year after year, so that today there are more people struggling with pain than with heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined."
The good news: Whether a professional athlete like Alstott or just a weekend warrior, pain sufferers now have access to more medication options than ever before. Often, such treatments take the form of prescription opioids -- also known as narcotics -- that include well-known painkillers such as OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet and Vicodin.
[For more of this story, written by Alan Mozes, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...ark-side-704489.html]
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