THE DRUGS DON'T WORK NO common painkillers are effective for back pain – they actually cause nasty side effects, experts warn

Author: Shaun Wooller

Popular drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen are mostly useless for treating the condition - and actually cause side effects, a new study found.

NO COMMON painkillers are effective for back pain, a major study claims.

It found popular drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen were mostly useless for treating the condition – and actually cause side effects.

Only one in six patients treated with the pills – known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – achieved any significant reduction in pain.

It comes after previous research revealed paracetamol is ineffective and opioids provide minimal benefit over dummy pills.

Researchers say the study highlights an urgent need to develop new therapies to treat back pain, which affects 80 per cent of people during their lifetime.

That equates to around 52million Brits.

Experts, from The George Institute, at the University of Sydney, in Australia, examined 35 trials involving more than 6,000 people.
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They found patients taking anti-inflammatories were 2.5 times more likely to suffer from gastro-intestinal problems, such as stomach ulcers and bleeding.

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