6 Things to Know About Muscle Relaxants
Finding an effective treatment to address chronic pain poses challenges to doctors and patients alike. At Advanced Spine Care and Pain Management, we offer comprehensive, customized pain management plans that include physical therapy, injections, and pain medications. Although pain medications are often maligned as having negative side effects, they really do plan an essential role in any good pain management plan.
Of course, we consider your biology, diagnosis, and personal history when recommending the type, dosage, and frequency of medications. We’d like to share why pain medications are often n important part of pain management therapy.
Pain meds can restore your ability to do activities
Tasks that many people take for granted, such as showering, washing the dishes, grocery shopping, and climbing the stairs, can become impossible for those with some forms of chronic pain. Pain medications, whether they’re nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol), or opioids, can relieve pain so you can function freely and do the very basic activities of daily living.
With pain medications, you can be less dependent on others. This can help alleviate depression and irritability associated with your pain because you feel more in control of your life again.
Pain meds help make physical therapy possible
Physical therapy exercises that stretch tight muscles and re-train movement habits that contribute to pain are often a part of a your treatment plan. But sometimes you hurt so much that doing these exercises is just not possible. Pain medications can lighten your pain load enough that you can dive into physical therapy more effectively and willingly.
Pain meds can improve your quality of life
Pain can make you avoid family events and social gatherings. Physical activity, even something as simple as enjoying an evening walk on a warm spring evening, becomes impossible. You may avoid work, or be unable to work altogether, because of pain. Financial hardship can result.
Taking pain medications can alleviate pain to restore your quality of life. As your symptoms ease, you’re better able to go back to work, socialize, and be more active.
How pain medications work
Pain medications work in different ways. NSAIDS inhibit the release of certain enzymes that form in response to an injury and cause inflammation. Opioids act like your body’s natural painkillers – endorphins – to lessen the pain signals that are sent through your body. They also slightly suppress nerve cell function.
Our doctors at Advanced Spine Care and Pain Management work with you to determine which pain medications will offer the most relief and the least side effects. We form a partnership with you to create a treatment plan that helps you live a more enjoyable and fulfilling life.
Medications aren’t the only solution to chronic pain, but they can certainly help you find relief. Call one of our offices in Staten Island or Hartsdale, New York, or schedule an appointment online to be evaluated and receive a customized treatment plan so you can get your life back.
1. Muscle relaxants are typically a second-line treatment for back pain
Scientific evidence and medical consensus indicate that back pain must be treated first with pain-relieving medications, such as acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). If these treatments fail, doctors may prescribe skeletal muscle relaxants for a short duration. Examples of prescription skeletal muscle relaxants include cyclobenzaprine and carisoprodol.
Research isn’t very robust on the use of muscle relaxants for back pain. The use of these drugs may also be considered controversial by some physicians.
2. Acute back pain may benefit more from a muscle relaxant
While treating acute musculoskeletal back pain, a short course of muscle relaxants may be more effective when used as an adjunctive treatment in the first 3 weeks. They may also be used when back pain causes disturbed sleep (for their sedative effect)
These drugs exert their muscle-relaxing effects by inhibiting nerve signals in the brain and spinal cord and may help break the pain-spasm-pain cycle, where pain causes your muscles to spasm as a protective response, and those spasms, in turn, cause more pain.
3. They may be more suitable for younger adults
Skeletal muscle relaxants may cause the functions of your central nervous system (CNS) to slow down, leading to CNS depression. As a result, the drowsiness and gait disturbances caused by muscle relaxants may pose a risk of falls and subsequent injury, especially in the elderly population.
4. Potential side effects may occur
Several side effects are possible with the use of skeletal muscle relaxants, including but not limited to 1:
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Gait disturbances
In patients who have liver, kidney, and/or heart problems, these drugs must be avoided or used with caution
5. Abuse and serious risks are possible
Muscle relaxants can be addictive, so it’s ideal to use them for the shortest possible time and keep them away from other adults and children. Because these medications depress the central nervous system, breathing can be affected, and an overdose can be fatal.
Combining a muscle relaxant with alcohol or another medication that also has a sedating effect is especially dangerous.
6. They must be discontinued gradually
If you’ve been taking a muscle relaxant for an extended period, don’t abruptly stop taking it one day. Doing so may set you up for some unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and trouble sleeping. When these drugs need to be discontinued, doctors typically taper the dose gradually before stopping the medicine.
It’s good to keep in mind that muscle relaxants are just one part of pain control for your back problem. To keep back pain from returning, your doctor may recommend other treatments, such as physical therapy and exercise, ergonomic changes at work, and/or epidural steroid injections.