Vioxx may be gone--but it certainly hasn't been forgotten, and some researchers seem to have much fonder memories of it than the rest of us.

You might remember Vioxx as the painkiller that was pulled due to its deadly heart and stroke risk, especially for long-term users such as osteoarthritis patients.

But the researchers behind a new study seem to remember it as a safer choice for those very same patients--because when the drug was pulled from the market, those patients began to suffer from falls and fractures.

I suppose falling down is better than dropping dead... but as you'll see in a moment, you don't have to choose one over the other--because the problem isn't the lack of Vioxx.

It's the bad decisions made by docs when the drug was shelved, as many of them began loading their patients up with opioid painkillers--drugs that can make anyone feel loopy, foggy and unsteady enough to take a tumble.

The researchers looked at data on some 11,000 osteoarthritis patients 65 and older who were in a health system database between 2001 and 2009, and found that the number of opioid prescriptions shot up from 8 percent of the patients in 2001 to 20 percent in 2004, the final year of Vioxx.

And then, with Vioxx off the market, the opioid floodgates really opened: By 2009, 40 percent of the osteoarthritis patients were taking them.

The researchers say the number of falls and fractures climbed right with those prescription rates--from less than 1 percent of the patients in 2001 to 4 percent of them by 2009.

And almost all of the new fall victims were opioid users, according to the study presented at a recent American College of Rheumatology meeting.

It's as if docs just threw up their hands when Vioxx was withdrawn and started passing out narcotics willy-nilly.

But that doesn't have to be your fate--because there are much safer alternatives out there.

Acupuncture, tai chi, glucosamine, and MSM have all helped patients fight osteoarthritis--and many have had even greater success killing the pain and restoring physical function by combining two or more of these treatments.

Other patients have found that their osteoarthritis is triggered or worsened by food allergies. Get tested by an experienced naturopath to learn what role diet may be playing in your condition.

The other option is to wait for Vioxx to mount a comeback--because the drug isn't actually banned. The withdrawal was voluntary, and an FDA panel even voted to allow its return despite the risks.

Merck didn't take them up on that offer--but technically, that means Vioxx is still out there like a horror movie monster... waiting for its sequel.

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