Medications

Medicine can decrease low back pain and reduce muscle spasms in some people. But medicine alone is not an effective treatment for low back pain. It should be used along with other treatments, such as exercise and physical therapy.

Medication Choices

There are several medicines your doctor may recommend, depending on how long you have had pain, what other symptoms you have, and your medical history. The medicines recommended most often are:

• Acetaminophen.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• Muscle relaxants.
• Opiates.
• Antidepressants.

Anesthetic or corticosteroid injections have all been prescribed for chronic low back pain, but they have not been researched enough to know whether they are effective for most people.

You may also hear of people having facet joint injections of anesthetic or corticosteroid for low back pain, but research has shown this to be ineffective or even harmful.

What To Think About

When making treatment decisions, bear in mind that medicines that work for some people don't work for others. Let your doctor know if the medicine you are taking is not effective. There may be another option to help control your back pain.

Anticonvulsants are sometimes used to treat low back pain, even though there isn't strong evidence that they help.

Botulinum toxin A (Botox) injection into the back muscles for chronic low back pain is an experimental treatment.