Muscle Relaxants Have Only Modest Short-Term Benefit for Acute Low Back Pain

A meta-analysis suggests that the evidence for benefit is not strong.

Muscle relaxants (primarily nonbenzodiazepine antispasmodics, such as cyclobenzaprine and methocarbamol) are prescribed commonly for low back pain and are recommended as first-line treatment for this indication by the American College of Physicians (NEJM JW Gen Med Apr 15 2017 and Ann Intern Med 2017; 166:514). A 2017 systematic review of five randomized, controlled trials showed that muscle relaxants produced a significant reduction in intensity of low back pain (Eur J Pain 2017; 21:228).

Researchers expanded the 2017 meta-analysis to include several more-recent large randomized trials as well as unpublished data in clinical trial registries. In all, they evaluated 49 randomized, controlled trials in which nonbenzodiazepine antispasmodics w…

Reviewing Author

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

Muscle Relaxants Have Only Modest Short-Term Benefit for Acute Low Back Pain

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Reviewing Author