Playing through pain: sports participation and nonmedical use of opioid medications among adolescents

Abstract

We assessed the nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) among adolescents who participate in competitive sports. Using data from Monitoring the Future, we found that adolescent participants in high-injury sports had 50% higher odds of NMUPO than adolescents who did not participate in these types of sports (i.e., nonparticipants and participants in other sports). Detecting certain subpopulations of youths at risk for NMUPO should be a central concern among health care providers.