A major study has found that taking paracetamol is not effective for treating back pain.
The study, published in the BMJ, examined the results of 13 research trials conducted on over 5,000 patients. It found that the drug didn’t do anything to improve levels of pain, recovery time or quality of life for patients of back pain.
The researchers called for an urgent review of current clinical guidelines, saying non-drug options such as exercise should also be explored for sufferers of back pain, such as those suffering a repetitive strain injury (or RSI).
Lead author of the study, Gustavo Machado from The George Institute and University of Sydney, said: “Paracetamol is the most widely used over-the-counter medicine for musculoskeletal conditions so it is critical that we review treatment recommendations in light of this new evidence.
“In our research, paracetamol for low back pain and osteoarthritis was also shown to be associated with higher risk of liver toxicity in patients.
“Patients were nearly four times more likely to have abnormal results on liver function tests compared to those taking placebo pills.”
Professor David Hunter, Osteoarthritis expert at Sydney University said current paracetamol guidelines should be revisited as a result of the study.
“A separate study published recently has shown that paracetamol can be associated with an increasing incidence of mortality and increased risk of cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and renal disease in the general adult population,” he said.
“Clinicians should carefully weigh benefits and harms when making treatment decisions.
“Paracetamol is not efficacious and potentially harmful. In this context we cannot justify its continued use for these prevalent diseases.”