A new study has created “substantial uncertainty” about the efficacy and safety of using pain relievers to treat back pain. However, in an analysis published in the British Medical Journal, researchers noted that there was very little confidence that it could even minimize the intensity of pain.
Various muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs were also part of the study, and the researchers outlined low to very low confidence in the evidence for a significant reduction in pain intensity when compared to placebo. Studies have shown that low or very low confidence in the evidence suggests that there is no difference in the effects of some of these drugs.
Researchers also reported that the drugs included in the study may increase the risk of adverse events such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness and headaches compared to other drugs.
Following the results of this report, its authors, Dr Michael Wewege and Prof James H McAuley of the University of New South Wales, Australia, advised physicians and patients to be careful with the use of pain relievers, also known as analgesics. bottom. “Reviews of analgesics for acute nonspecific low back pain found considerable uncertainty about their effects on pain intensity and safety,” they said. We recommend a cautious approach to managing acute nonspecific low back pain using
Despite nearly 60 years of research, there is little “high certainty” evidence for the effectiveness of pain relievers in treating back pain, the report says. consulted scientific databases to conduct randomized controlled trials comparing pain relievers with placebo or no treatment in patients with back pain. Trials published between 1964 and 2021 were included in the analysis. There were a total of 15,134 participants aged 18 years and older and 69 different medications or combinations.
According to the report, “While this was a comprehensive review based on an exhaustive literature search, the researchers acknowledged that most of the included studies had concerns related to risk of bias. This, along with other limitations, may have influenced our findings’. We assessed the investigator’s risk of bias using a validated risk tool.
In addition to ibuprofen, paracetamol, and codeine, drugs such as the muscle relaxant toprerisone, the anti-inflammatory drug tolperisone, and the anticonvulsant pregvalin were also included. We reported that the reliability of the evidence was low.
The researchers say no further reviews are needed until high-quality studies are published.
