PainRelief.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: We screened thousands of manuscripts and ultimately reviewed 44 studies to help us answer our question. While there is some evidence that muscle relaxants help for patients with painful spasms and neck pain, their long-term use for low back pain, fibromyalgia, headaches, and other conditions does not appear to be beneficial. 

PainRelief.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: Doing systematic reviews like this help us identify “gaps” in our current knowledge. One such gap is around the safety and the risk for dependence and other adverse effects associated with these medications. Safety concerns are particularly an issue for older patients (those 65 years and older). These should be studied and reported on so clinicians and patients can make more informed decisions about pain control options.

We had no disclosures to make. 

Citation: Oldfield BJ, Gleeson B, Morford KL, et al. Long-Term Use of Muscle Relaxant Medications for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(9):e2434835. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.34835

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Last Updated on September 24, 2024 by PainRelief.com