Musculoskeletal conditions are the most frequent cause of
chronic pain and affect around 1 in 5 adults in Europe. When
chronic pain occurs, it becomes disease itself, with substantial clinical, social and economic impact. Efficacy and tolerability problems are encountered with all therapeutic strategies available to treat
musculoskeletal pain. This often limits effective
analgesia and patients' long term compliance, with the result that
chronic pain is persistently underestimated and undertreated.
Tapentadol is a novel, centrally acting
analgesic that has been recently commercialized for the treatment of
chronic pain. This new molecule, by combining two distinct mechanisms of action, μ-
opioid receptor agonism (MOR) and
noradrenaline reuptake inhibition (NRI), introduces a new pharmacological class called MOR-NRI. Several studies demonstrated promising results in the management of both nociceptive and
neuropathic pain and good tolerability profile, particularly concerning side effects, compared to traditional
opioids. This novel
analgesic represents a possible therapeutic option also in the rheumatologic field, particularly in the treatment of
osteoarthritis and
low back pain.