This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:

The primary objective of this review will be to determine whether opioids are effective in improving pain and/or function in individuals with chronic LBP.

Secondary objectives will be to determine the effectiveness of opioids in:
1. patients with chronic LBP with or without prior spinal surgery
2. patients with LBP with or without radicular symptoms (patients with symptoms radiating into the buttock or leg irrespective of radiological or electrophysiological evidence).