Getting something for our aches and pains is one of the most common reasons we visit the doctor. But instead of leaving with a prescription for a painkiller, we're just as likely to be given an antidepressant.
Doctors have been using antidepressants as pain relievers since the 1960s, but the practice has exploded in recent years with the opioid scandal, which has resulted in whole towns in the US addicted to the analgesics.
Today, antidepressants are the only drugs that doctors should be prescribing for chronic pain, according to best-practice guidelines drawn up by the UK's NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), which determines how doctors treat. Standard painkillers, such as the NSAIDs
