New findings show that between 2010 and 2016, new opioid prescriptions from surgeons have increased by 18 percent. However, UPI reports physicians have also started prescribing alternative painkillers, like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, to help slow that trend -- and it seems to be working. University of Michigan researchers found that more than half of patients who underwent one of six surgeries took no opioids after the procedure.