Pain has only been seriously considered as a diagnostic tool since the 1990s, when pain assessment scales were popularized as a “5th vital sign.” In the same decade, opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin, began to be marketed as a non-addictive alternative to heavy narcotics. The change in this approach toward understanding pain in medical practice, coupled with the rescheduling of prescription opioids, led Americans to a more comfortable relationship with pain medications. Two decades later, however, opioid related overdoses have soared. Their questionable medical efficacy and addictive potential make these drugs, and the casual nature with which they have been prescribed, a threat to patient and public health.…