Paracetamol Not Good for Back Pain or Osteoarthritis

Recent studies made in Australia shows that Paracetamol is inefficient for back pain and for osteoarthritis. Instead it increases the risk of liver disease.

Back pain is estimated to affect over 26 million people in the UK alone. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or NICE stablishes NHS practice in the United Kingdom and recommends Paracetamol for lower back pain and for osteoarthritis.

But a team from the University of Sydney in Australia suggest that Paracetamol is not good for either back pain or osteoarthritis. Instead of helping patients it increases the risk of liver disease.

The study was done from 13 drug trials involving more than 5000 patients. It showed that Paracetamol increases the risk of developing liver toxicity in patients. And these risks are 4 times higher than patients not taking Paracetamol.

Currently Paracetamol is over prescribed drug and widely available over the counter but what these recent studies suggest that Paracetamol is not a drug that you should consume in order to treat back pain or osteoarthritis.

Therefore from now on make sure that you ask your GP or pharmacist about taking of purchasing Paracetamol. The chances are that in future this drug will not be prescribe by many doctors or medical practitioners.

Physical activity is 4 times better to treat osteoarthritis instead of taking drugs. There are many health advantages in being active as it stimulates your body functions, forcing them to function more efficiently. Inactivity or sedentary lifestyle can cause back pain because your spinal cord gets “jammed” due to lack of activity. Therefore make sure that you do regular exercise throughout the day.

These studies are important findings and I am glad that these findings were published for the general public. More studies are required so that the general public can get the best medical treatment as possible.

Drug trials are done on constant bases and this ensures that the future drugs are more efficient and cause less negative side effects. This is why governments around the world are spending billions of dollars each year in medicine and research.