Taking common painkillers for a bad back may do more harm than good, warns new research. Scientists say their findings raise “considerable uncertainty” around the effectiveness and safety of popping pills for back pain.
They found that painkillers can trigger unpleasant side-effects - such as nausea, dizziness and headaches - while having only limited impact on reducing the original discomfort. The Australian research team advised patients and doctors to take a "cautious" approach to the use of painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen.
They conducted an in-depth analysis of almost 60 years of research into the prescription of pills for back pain. But their findings, published by The BMJ, show there is still a lack of "high certainty evidence" on the effectiveness and safety of commonly used painkillers, known as analgesics, for short bouts of lower back pain. Study lead author Dr Michael Wewege said that until higher quality trials comparing analgesics with each other are published, GPs and patients were advised to take a cautious approach to manage acute non-specific low back pain with analgesic medicines.
