Help! I Need Lower Back Pain Relief! What Works and What Doesn't!

Lower back pain is an extremely common symptoms with around 18% of people reportedly having had some form of lower back pain in the past month. Symptoms can run the gamut from being a slight inconvenience to completely incapacitating. It's also one of the most common reasons patients present to their doctors.

Unfortunately, there's alot of misinformation about what constitutes good treatment for lower back pain. The first step when you experience an episode of back pain is to see your doctor to make sure it's musculoskeletal in origin and not due to any other underlying pathology. Once this is ruled out, you can concentrate on relieving your symptoms.

It's reassuring to know that between 30 and 60 percent of people who experience lower back pain will recover within 7 days. A whopping 95 percent will recover in 12 weeks. Even though a complete recovery is likely, lower back pain can be quite inconvenient until that recovery occurs. Here's a review of what has been shown to work and not work in the treatment of lower back pain:

1. Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is in the class of drugs known as anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). Medical studies have shown strong evidence that this class of medications can result in significant control of back pain. Unfortunately, these medications can have side effects and shouldn't be taken if you have a history of a peptic ulcer or bleeding from the digestive tract. You should also avoid them if you have a history of kidney disease.

2. Tylenol

Tylenol or acetaminophen has been shown to be effective in the treatment of lower back pain in several studies. It's unclear as to whether this medication is as effective as Ibuprofen, although it does have benefits and may be useful if you can't take Ibuprofen. Tylenol should not be used if you have a history of liver disease.

3. Muscle relaxants