Back pain drugs ‘of little use’

MUSCLE relaxant drugs used to treat backache, are “largely ineffective,” scientists have found.

They also increase the risk of side effects such as headaches and dizziness.

Australian researchers analysed evidence from 31 trials involving more than 6,500 participants.

They said muscle relaxants – that include non-benzodiazepine antispasmodics and antispastics – might reduce pain in the short term, but the effect is “too small” to be clinically meaningful.

However, they stressed the certainty of evidence is low and say large trials are urgently needed.

Study co-author Dr Aidan Cashin, of the University of New South Wales, said: “No trials evaluated the effect of muscle relaxants on long term outcomes.”

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

In 2020, prescriptions in England for lower back pain exceeded 1.3million.