Paracetamol is ‘no use’ against lower back pain
MILLIONS of people advised by their GP to take paracetamol to relieve lower back pain and osteoarthritis have been wasting their time, researchers claim.
An extensive study has found that the over-the-counter drug is ineffective for pain concentrated in the lower spine.
Scientists also found that paracetamol offers just “small but not clinically important benefits” for people with osteoarthritis.
The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, will come as a blow to millions of sufferers who use the pills to manage both conditions.
Back pain and osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, are the leading causes of disability in the UK and worldwide – with clinical guidelines long recommending paracetamol as the first line drug treatment for both.
But the research led by the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney in Australia suggests this advice may be wrong.
Medical experts looked at 13 studies examining the effects of paracetamol use compared with a placebo.
The team then analysed what effect paracetamol had on the reduction of pain intensity, improvement of disability and quality of life, as well as safety and patient adherence.
They found that, despite its common use, paracetamol was ineffective for lower back pain.
While they did not investigate its effects on neck pain, they found evidence that while paracetamol had a significant but small effect in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis, this was not likely to be meaningful.
The report explained: “Paracetamol is ineffective in the treatment of low back pain and provides minimal short-term benefit for people with osteoarthritis.
“These results support the reconsideration of recommendations to use paracetamol for patients with low back pain and osteoarthritis of the hip or knee.”
However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it would continue to recommend paracetamol as an option until there was more evidence.
The use of the drug for back pain was also supported by NHS Choices – and osteoarthritis experts urged caution on the new findings.
Jane Tadman of Arthritis Research UK said: “We’ve known for some time that paracetamol may not work for everyone with severe pain from their arthritis, but some people find it helps them and allows them to sleep and exercise without discomfort.”
The researchers also found abnormal results in liver function tests could quadruple when osteoarthritis sufferers used paracetamol. But the clinical relevance of this was unclear.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently carrying out a wide-ranging review of the drug.
