Choosing Back Pain Medication

Back pain is something that most people suffer from during their lifetime and it is one of the most common ailments that send people to their doctor's office. There are a variety of medications that can be used for back pain and if you are planning a trip to the doctor here's some information on just which types of drugs you might be prescribed.

In fact with severe enough pain it can be almost guaranteed that you will be prescribed something to help relieve the pain for the simple reason that it is important to your healing ability to keep moving around. While heavy physical activity is not recommended for those with back pain it is a good idea to stay mobile while recovering. The body will heal much quicker this way.

Anti-inflammatory (NSAID's), acetaminophen, opioids, and muscle relaxants are the most common back pain medications that are available today. Which ones your doctor will recommend for you will depend on what the problem is and the symptoms that accompany it.

Anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as NSAID's, reduce inflammation, swelling, and relieve pain. The more well known drugs in this group include ibuprofen and aspirin, along with Ketoprofen and Naproxen. Acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol, is an analgesic used to reduce pain. Anacin-3 and Phenaphen are two other well known brands of acetaminophen.

For extreme pain your doctor may prescribe an opioid such as codeine and morphine. These are very powerful painkillers that need to be used with caution because of their addiction potential. There is new research that demonstrates that when these types of pain killers are used as prescribed to fight pain they are not nearly as addictive as first thought.

The last types of medication used for back pain are muscle relaxants. Muscle spasms are one of the primary causes of acute back pain and are generally caused by some sort of injury. When you back has an injury in a certain location the muscles around that injury have to work harder to compensate. This can cause muscle spasms which causes a lot of pain. A muscle relaxant does just that, relaxes the muscles and brings the spasms under control which leads to a reduction in pain. This is important because until the muscles spasms are treated it's hard to get other treatments to help the situation done.

The purpose of any back pain medication is obvious; to reduce the pain so that healing can begin. But it is important to remember that just because it doesn't hurt it doesn't mean the problem is fixed. Doing to much physical activity while on pain killers can aggravate the injury and make the healing process take much longer then it should.