A pharmaceutical composition for averting opioid addiction in a patient is disclosed. The composition can be used in a patient suffering from moderate to severe low back pain (LBP). The composition is useful in a patient diagnosed with low back pain, and comprises a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody that binds specifically to nerve growth factor (NGF) or an antigen binding fragment thereof； and is used in the absence of an opioid to relieve pain, and avert opioid addiction in a patient.
