Disability and the opioid crisis have a reflexive relationship, meaning they contribute to one another. Lower back pain is one of the leading causes of disability but also one of the leading reasons for opioid prescription. Back pain was the largest contributor to the growth in SSDI receipts. A disproportionate share of opioid addicts are SSDI recipients. In fact, long-term opioid prescription was found to triple the duration of temporary disability benefits for similar workers with similar injuries who were not prescribed opioids for their pain.

Further, drug addiction itself is a disability under the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Affordable Care Act. Thus, disability treatment for back pain contributes to the opioid epidemic, long-term opioid use prolongs disability benefits for injured workers, and opioid addiction is itself a disability. The disability belt and opioid crisis are interwoven crises.

Below is a trailer for the 2019 film Back Fork, which follows the life of Waylon in Appalachia who struggles with pill addiction while dealing with tragedy.