Back Pain Medicines
Do not use acetaminophen/ Tylenol. It has not been shown to be helpful over placebo for back pain.
Anti-inflammatory medicines. 400-600 mg every 6 hours with food. Do not use or use only with Doctor’s advice (likely with decreased dose, if at all) if you have diabetes, kidney disease, or stomach ulcer disease/reflux or heart/ stroke problems, recent surgeries or allergies or if you take any kind of blood thinners or others detailed by your Doctor. These should be tried regularly for 3 days or until pain gets better, whichever comes first, before discontinuing for lack of benefit. Avoid using these if you suspect you have Covid -19.
ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Midol)
naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
If the above do not help, your Doctor may prescribe muscle relaxants: diazepam 5 mg every 8 hours or tizanidine 4-8 mg twice a day. These can cause dizziness/drowsiness and you should not perform dangerous activities or drive. Your Doctor will talk about other side effects.
Narcotic like medicines like Tramadol are usually not prescribed. If they are prescribed, it is for a very short time for when your pain is very severe, not responding to above medicines and only so as to allow you to perform exercises, which should form the cornerstone of your treatment. High side effects and addiction potential.
Capsaicin cream/ ointment may help if used for under 3 months at 3 times/ day. Some common brand names are Capzasin-P (0.1%), Zostrix (0.033%), Zostrix maximum strength (0.075 %), and a prescription Qutenza patch (8%). Side effects include burning, redness, swelling, itching, pain
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