Lower back pain is a serious health issue
A dull ache or stabbing-like feeling in the lower back of the body is found commonly in people worldwide. It makes it difficult for the person to even stand up or sit straight for a longer duration.
To get immediate relief from the pain people often take several medications, without any doctor's prescription like paracetamol, ibuprofen, and codeine.
A new research study has warned against the use of such medicines.
More than 15,000 participants were studied
A total of 15,134 participants were studied. The study included 69 different medicines or combinations.
"We included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, opioids, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, skeletal muscle relaxants, or corticosteroids from the World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical system," the researchers have said.
The study was published in The BMJ on March 22, 2023.
Researchers found moderate evidences of side effects
The researchers found that analgesics reduced the pain, minimally, but they had a potential to increase the risk of adverse side effects.
Side effects on the gastrointestinal system were nausea, dyspepsia, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Discomforts related to the nervous system were drowsiness, dizziness, and headache.
For the study acute low back pain was considered as the pain that lasted for up to six week’s duration.
"Not clinically meaningful"
The study concluded that for the treatment of lower back pain these medicines might have a small impact but it is not clinically meaningful.
"The comparative effectiveness and safety of analgesic medicines for acute non-specific low back pain are uncertain. Until higher quality randomised controlled trials of head-to-head comparisons are published, clinicians and patients are recommended to take a cautious approach to manage acute non-specific low back pain with analgesic medicines," the researchers have warned.
A 2015 study published in the British Medical Journal had similar outcomes
A review study of 13 clinical trials done in 2015 found that taking paracetamol for treating back pain and osteoarthritis did not help in improving the quality of life.
They found that the impact of paracetamol in reducing pain was not small, it was not clinically important.
They also warned that taking this medicine can increase the risk towards the liver.
So, how to alleviate lower back pain?
While paracetamols have a minimal impact on alleviating pain and have lots of side effects, so are other medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids.
Health experts suggest physical activity is the key to reduce the pain.
Doctors often ask such patients to keep moving. There is a very common myth that people with lower back pain should not move. However, the fact is exactly the opposite; the more you move and stay physically active the less pain you will feel.
Sitting for too long and being sedentary makes the muscles around the spine weak and thus it loses its grip.
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