13 best medicines for back pain

*Overview of the best according to the editors of Healthy Food Near Me. About selection criteria. This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

First of all, let’s define what we mean by “back pain”. This is pain emanating from the structures of the musculoskeletal system. Such sources of back pain include a spasmodic muscle, aseptic inflammation that has developed around it, nerve roots squeezed by intervertebral protrusions and hernias, and each pain emanating from the corresponding structure has its own characteristics, its own color, and its own characteristics. But what this pain has in common is the musculoskeletal system, as its source.

In this material, we will not consider other sources of back pain, because they require a completely different treatment. Examples of such other and dangerous back pain, not related to the musculoskeletal system, would be acute pain with dry pleurisy, with pneumonia, with myocardial infarction, with dissection or aortic aneurysm. Finally, with severe anxiety and depression, which has a somatoform color, there may also be back pain. Back pain is caused by tuberculous spondylitis, or inflammation of the vertebrae of tuberculous etiology, metastases to the spine, which are often found in advanced prostate adenocarcinoma, and other causes. All these options will not be considered in this material, since their treatment with the means given in the article will only move away from the correct treatment, worsen the prognosis, since all drugs are designed for the pathology of the musculoskeletal system.

For what diseases can you successfully, but naturally, on the recommendation of a doctor, take the medicines described in this article? This is the following pathology:

1. lumbago, shooting;

2. neuralgia of the intercostal nerves;

3. exacerbation of osteochondrosis;

4. the appearance of protrusions and hernias of intervertebral discs;

5. constant, long-term and aching pain in the back, which occurs due to sedentary, sedentary work, chronic hypothermia;

The last, muscular-tonic pain is not of high intensity, but leads to limited mobility in the back and a deterioration in the quality of life. It is with this pathology that the following remedies will be relevant.

How often does acute back pain occur? As practice shows, regularly 10% of the adult population of Russia experience an attack of pain almost every year, and most often it is the lumbar spine, since it has the greatest load. Inactivity, excess weight, and carrying heavy loads further exacerbate the situation. Most often it is a backache that occurs when coughing, sneezing, with any movement, and even with laughter and crying. Even straining in the toilet significantly worsens the situation, and such pain is explained by the sharp reactions of the inflamed nerve roots to the excessive pressure of the tissues adjacent to them. And since the nerve roots often lie inside the bone canals and openings, they have nowhere to expand outward during inflammation, and there is intense pain of a swollen spinal nerve or root that is clamped in the bone canal. That is why it is so sharp and shooting.

Then, after such a primary lesion of the nerve roots, for example, in the case of a herniated disc, the second component joins. The deep muscles of the back, which are adjacent to the affected segment, are also involved in the inflammatory process, and begin to shorten, and a muscle spasm sets in. Any muscle is able to respond to irritation only by contraction, and if it is short, physiological, then the muscle retains its ability to feed and remove the products of its vital activity. In the case of chronic muscle spasm, the lumen of the muscle capillaries decreases, arterial and venous blood flow worsens, and self-poisoning occurs in the muscle with the products of its own vital activity, and above all, with lactic acid.

Thus, a so-called vicious circle is formed, in which a decrease in blood circulation in muscle tissue leads to an increase in pain, and pain additionally stimulates spasm. Therefore, drugs are needed that can not only eliminate pain as a symptom, but also break this vicious mechanism, affect the pathogenesis, or the development of pain and inflammation, or even the immediate cause of back pain.

It is important that the cause of pain can be influenced by non-drug methods, such as swimming, regular exercise, or weight loss. All this will be the best medicine for back pain. All other drugs are either means of pathogenetic therapy, or symptomatic.

In this list, we tried not to include those drugs whose action is limited only by the analgesic effect. The review contains effective, popular remedies that have not only been proven to stop acute pain in the back, but also break the vicious circle of muscle spasm and eliminate chronic inflammation, which is so well known to all patients with osteochondrosis.

It is important to remember that this review is by no means an instruction for self-treatment. Many of these drugs are prescription drugs, and all of them must be prescribed by a doctor, because in some cases, even in the presence of acute pain emanating from the musculoskeletal system, not pills or injections are needed, but sometimes urgent neurosurgical surgery is needed.

Therefore, it is necessary to perceive the information below, simply as a general developmental one, in order to let a person understand how this or that medicine works, what analogues they have, and how much they cost. We can consider the material below to be simply current pharmacology on a specific topic – acute back pain.

For each drug, the INN, or international non-proprietary name, is first given. Next, the first in the list is the original, first created drug from this line, on which the largest number of scientific studies have been accumulated, which contains the most purified substance, or active substance. The original drug is the most famous, and has the highest cost. It then lists its commercial copies from various manufacturers, which are called generics. For each drug, a price will be given that is relevant in the territory of the Russian Federation at the end of February 2020 for pharmacies of all forms of ownership.

This review does not aim to advertise any individual drugs, or create anti-advertising for other products and manufacturing companies. The selection of drugs was carried out in full compliance with official instructions, international and national recommendations for the treatment of back pain, and the order of their listing is dictated by their belonging to one or another group according to the ATX classification or by their method of application: injection, tablets, local remedy. And we begin this review with injections, or with means for parenteral, most often intramuscular injection.

Thirteen Best Medicines for Back Pain

Injectable forms for back pain

It should be said right away that “injections” means, first of all, intramuscular injections. In acute back pain, droppers or intravenous infusions are practically not used, but deep injections can be used paravertebral, that is, next to the affected vertebra, using lidocaine, as well as long-acting hormones, for example, with Diprospan or Kenalog. Such injections are called therapeutic blockades, and it is they that allow you to remove intense and excruciating pain for a long time, and restore freedom of movement. But in this article we will not talk about these tools, a special article will be created for them.

You should know the general rules for the use of intramuscular injections for the relief of acute back pain. All drugs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and, despite the constant improvement of their safety profile, can cause side effects. The most common side effect is an adverse effect on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, heartburn, as well as exacerbation of the erosive and ulcerative process, if the patient has one. Therefore, in the presence of such diseases or a tendency to them, it is necessary to prevent the negative effect during treatment by taking drugs from the group of proton pump inhibitors, for example, Omeprazole on the recommendation of a doctor.

The second mandatory condition is short courses. Some drugs, such as Movalis, are specially sold in the amount of 3 ampoules per pack in order to limit injections to three days. Voltaren, or diclofenac, is also sold in a minimum number of ampoules, which will prevent the patient from mistakenly continuing to inject, which as a result can lead to the development of complications and side effects. Now let’s take a look at some of these popular and effective remedies for relieving acute and chronic back pain.

Diclofenac (Voltaren, Diklak, Diclogene, Ortofen)

Rating: 4.9

Diclofenac, or Ortofen, as the people know it, is the most inexpensive, most commonly prescribed in villages, the most accessible and effective, and, unfortunately, the most rude and dangerous drug of all NSAIDs, that is, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Moreover, in the word “rough” there is no offense to the manufacturers of this remedy for back pain. He is rude by his very nature.

It anesthetizes and relieves inflammation very well, it helps when other means do not help or help poorly, but a person must pay for its high efficiency with its low, poor safety spectrum. Diclofenac with repeated, long-term use causes not only bleeding from stomach ulcers, not only erosive gastritis, but can lead to severe forms of drug-induced hepatitis, and even death.

Since Diclofenac almost always helps, uneducated people, and people deprived of medical advice, for example in villages, give themselves injections of diclofenac daily for several days, weeks, and even months (!). In this case, we can say with confidence that this medicine destroys the body. If it is used in small courses, no more than 3-4 intramuscular injections for acute back pain, and then switch to tablets and topical preparations, observing precautions, then everything will be fine.

What explains such a high popularity of diclofenac? The fact is that historically, when new drugs from the NSAID group were discovered, the really most active ones were first discovered, and Diclofenac was among them. Then it turned out that it affects both enzymes, both types of cyclooxygenase, COX-1 and COX-2. It is known that for a good analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, it was necessary to inhibit only one type of enzyme, and blocking two types at once led to the development of serious complications. But when they began to gradually conduct research, and safer drugs appeared, it turned out that all of them were inferior to diclofenac in terms of effectiveness, ability to anesthetize and relieve inflammation. It turned out that by increasing the safety, the drug begins to lose in efficiency and speed of action. Therefore, among drugs from the group of NSAIDs, diclofenac has no equal so far.

How to use Diclofenac for acute back pain? It is prescribed deep intramuscularly, 3 ml, but only for 2, maximum 3 days, under the cover of omeprazole or other proton pump inhibitors, and if the patient has an exacerbation of an ulcer or gastritis, then Diclofenac is strictly prohibited. One of the best and most purified Diclofenacs is Voltaren, produced in Switzerland, and one pack of 5 ampoules will cost no more than 230 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

Above we have already listed all the advantages and disadvantages – the most effective in terms of speed and strength, and it has the lowest safety profile. However, at the same time, it improves the quality of life much faster than other drugs, has a low cost, and due to its popularity, it is produced not only in ampoules, but also in tablets, capsules, in the form of ointments, creams and gels, even in the form of rectal suppositories and even in the form of eye drops. We can assume that a short course of treatment with diclofenac according to indications will really help you, but soon you will need to switch to other drugs, but long-term self-treatment with diclofenac, despite the seeming good effect, will be extremely dangerous.

Meloxicam (Movalis, Melocan, Mirlox, Amelotex, Arthrozan)

Rating: 4.8

If Diclofenac was the drug of the first generation, then Movalis, manufactured by the well-known company Berlin-Chemie, can be considered the reference drug of the next generation. It no longer anesthetizes as much as Diclofenac, but it actively relieves inflammation, and has much better tolerance and safety. Movalis is prescribed for any problems of the musculoskeletal system, including acute back pain. It is in demand for myositis, arthritis, neuralgia, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. Movalis is available in a package of 3 ampoules for 3 days of use. Each ampoule contains 1,5 ml of solution, respectively – this is 15 g of meloxicam. Exactly the same amount of meloxicam is contained in one tablet of Movalis. There are also tablets containing half the substance, that is, 7,5 mg.

How much will a package for 3 days of intramuscular injections cost? Not less than 600 rubles. After the drug is used up under the cover of omeprazole, it will be necessary to switch to tablets, preferably at a dosage half as much, for example, 7,5 mg, if they stop the pain syndrome. If the pain persists, it will be necessary to look for another method of treatment, such as paravertebral blocks.

Advantages and disadvantages

As mentioned above, Meloxicam is much safer, while its analgesic effect is only slightly lower than that of diclofenac, but it is better tolerated and can cause side effects, especially in the elderly. But still, it is necessary to take them into account, because in addition to the provocation of ulcer formation, contraindications include aspirin asthma and aspirin intolerance, age under 18 years, pregnancy, lactation. The official instruction indicates a large list of diseases that require the appointment of this remedy with caution, and the doctor must prescribe it and control the treatment process. But in this case, in matters of relief of acute and chronic back pain, Movalis is considered the modern gold standard of emergency therapy.

Mydocalm-Richter (tolperisone)

Rating: 4.8

It was said above that, in addition to severe radicular symptoms, chronic muscle spasm leads to secondary back pain, they thicken, form ridges on the sides of the spine, and the condition is called chronic myofascial-tonic syndrome. Naturally, if the muscle spasm could be resolved, then the muscles would also relax, and the pain would disappear, or at least decrease. What can be done to relieve muscle spasm?

It was said above that it is necessary to eliminate inflammation and normalize blood flow, as well as venous outflow from spasmodic muscles, their trophism will improve, and the spasm will be resolved.

This is true, but Mydocalm acts differently. It regulates the activity of special interneurons in the spinal cord, which send a slightly modified impulse to the spasmodic muscles, and cause the muscle fibers to relax. So, with the help of chemical cunning, Mydocalm acts, therefore it belongs to the so-called central muscle relaxants, and does not affect the muscle itself, and not its blood supply, but the neurons that lie far from it in the brain and spinal cord, by changing their reflexes .

After Mydocalm relaxes the muscle, blood circulation improves, pain syndrome is relieved, and it is clear that it is indicated not only for acute back pain, but also for many spastic conditions, such as parkinsonism, and the consequences of central strokes and paralysis. Mydocalm injections are produced by the Hungarian company Gedeon Richter, each ampoule contains 100 mg of the drug, and in the acute first three days of the most pronounced pain syndrome, you can inject the drug twice, in the morning and in the evening, or once.

Advantages and disadvantages

A big plus of Mydocalm is its good tolerance, but it works best together with a drug from the NSAID group, so the use of Mydocalm together with Movalis or Diclofenac can be considered a double gold standard. He will relax the muscles, but he will not be able to anesthetize alone. A negative feature of this remedy can be considered its prohibition of use in children, sometimes severe allergic reactions, and excessive muscle weakness, which, however, is rare, will require the restriction of activities that require quick response and coordination of movements, for example, in hazardous industries with moving machines and mechanisms. In addition to the injectable form of the drug, there are Mydocalm tablets, so after removing the secondary muscle spasm, you can switch to maintenance therapy.

Milgamma (vitamin B6 + B12 + B1)

Rating: 4.7

It is known that vitamins are shown only when there is beriberi, but in the case of neurotropic vitamins that are part of Milgamma, indications for use are expanding. It was said above that the nerve roots compressed in the bone channels experience great pressure, their trophism deteriorates, and it becomes possible to generate pathological impulses, which leads to pain.

Neurotropic vitamins have a trophic effect on the nerves, which improves their conductivity. Therefore, Milgamma can be prescribed in the acute period of all of the above conditions, in which acute radicular symptoms occur, that is, a backache, like an electric shock that appears with every shaking, turning, sneezing or laughing. These are various neuralgias, various neuritis, plexitis. In addition, Milgamma is actively used in peripheral neuropathies, for example, due to prolonged ongoing diabetes, or alcohol intoxication.

The product is available in ampoules, and 2 ml contains, respectively, 100, 100 and 1 mg of vitamin B1, B6 and B12. The effect of this remedy is neuroprotective and mildly analgesic. It is necessary to administer the drug daily, intramuscularly, the course of treatment is from 5 to 10 days. The cost of the German drug company Werwag Pharma, on average, 570 rubles. per pack of 10 Milgamma ampoules.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main disadvantage of Milgamma is the inability to cope with acute back pain alone, a complex effect is required. And if a drug from the NSAID group is prescribed, and a centrally acting muscle relaxant, then with Milgamma, the three of us, these drugs will cope with pain much faster. Like many other vitamins, Milgamma can cause allergic reactions, but usually their frequency is very, very low. However, they try not to prescribe the remedy to pregnant women, children, nursing mothers and patients with heart failure. There are Milgamma tablets that allow you to continue treatment after courses of intramuscular injections, and this continuity is very, very convenient.

back pain pills

Readers have probably already understood that many drugs are dispensed in two forms at once: in the initial, acute stage, intramuscular injections are prescribed, and then tablets, which act more slowly, but softer. In the event that there is no acute, severe pain, then you can immediately begin treatment with tablets.

It should be remembered that the advantage of “shots” is that the drugs immediately enter the bloodstream, and do not pass through the portal circulatory system in the liver. Therefore, the medicinal effect of parenteral injections is much higher. In the case of the same medicinal dose in an ampoule and in a tablet, despite their equality, the effectiveness of the injectable form of the drug will be higher. Each self-respecting original drug from the NSAID group has both an ampouled and a tablet form, and Mydocalm also has it. But there are drugs for acute and chronic back pain that, despite their effectiveness, are not available in injections. What are these medicines? This is a modern group of anti-inflammatory drugs called coxibs. Let’s talk about the very first and most significant representatives of this group, the drug Celebrex, or celecoxib, which first entered the market back in 1998.

Celecoxib (Celebrex, Dilaxa)

Rating: 4.9

Despite the fact that Celebrex has been used for more than 20 years, it has found its niche, and this is the niche of the safe use of tablets, in conditions where the patient is still compromised by any additional diseases. Celebrex is much safer than Diclofenac, and even Movalis, and even more so in conditions of relatively long-term use. The main area in which Celebrex is used is in the practice of rheumatology, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike its predecessors, Celebrex has practically no effect on ulcerative erosive processes in the stomach and duodenum, does not affect platelet aggregation, and can be used to relieve acute back pain.

One tablet is 200 mg, and on the first day you can take a double dose at once, and even a third tablet in the evening. Then the dose is reduced: 1 tablet 2 times a day. The course of treatment is no more than 5 days, and at the same time, one package of medicine, out of 10 tablets, designed just for 5 days, costs about 540 rubles. For the first time this drug was launched on the market by the American company Pfizer, but it also has a competitor. This is the drug Dilaxa, which is produced in Slovenia. A package of 10 tablets, in the same dosage, will cost from 250 to 330 rubles with the European quality of the drug.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage is high safety, and the ability to treat with Celebrex, even for a long time, patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, who could not be prescribed NSAIDs at all. In addition, it has a favorable safety profile when Celebrex is administered to the elderly, with moderate hepatic and renal insufficiency. An additional valuable effect of this remedy can be considered an antipyretic effect, but at the same time, of course, it acts much milder than diclofenac. Therefore, those patients who suffer from very severe back pain and at the same time have a healthy stomach and liver, they will certainly choose one or two injections of cheap Ortofen, rather than long-term use of the more expensive Celebrex. In general, the strength of Celebrex is the possibility of its long-term use in patients with pathology of the gastrointestinal tract.

Ointments, creams, gels, emulsions…

Why did we devote so little time to pills? And simply because the tablets can contain the same drugs as in the ampouled form. Perhaps one can also name ketoprofen, and a substance with a pronounced analgesic effect, this is ketorolac, aka Ketanov. Ketorolac relieves pain very well, but does not affect inflammation and muscle spasm. It can be used in the early postoperative period, for example, after microdiscectomy, or as an analgesic after paravertebral therapeutic blocks.

There is a known continuum in the treatment of acute and chronic back pain. At the beginning of the injection, and then, along with the tablets, various local remedies are immediately added, which are rubbed into the skin. Among them are ointments, gels and various creams. They also very often contain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Fastum-gel, or Voltaren emulgel, and also have a warming or cooling effect. They are very widely used in traumatology, in neurological practice, as well as in sports medicine.

When are warming and cooling ointments used? Cooling is necessary at the first meeting with pain, on the first day, since warming will only increase swelling due to blood flow to the affected area, therefore, pain increases. Then, on the third or fourth day, when the inflammation begins to subside after the use of drugs, then you can start using ointments with an intense warming component. Ointments and creams will improve blood supply to the muscles and venous outflow from them, eliminate spasm, and help resolve swelling of the nerve roots.

If cooling ointments most often contain camphor and peppermint oil, then warming ointments may have cayenne pepper extract, and other intense irritating components. Let’s get acquainted with some ointments, and immediately say that ointments are substances on a greasy, vaseline-based, which are slowly absorbed, act for a long time, and can stain clothes. Therefore, it is best to smear the back with ointment at night.

Ointments for severe back pain

Here we will talk about some types of ointments that both warm and cool, and also contain some animal components, such as bee and snake venom. Let’s start with intensely warming ointments.

Finalgon

Rating: 4.9

Derivatives of nicotinic and nonylic acid cause intense blood flow, dilate blood vessels, as a result, pain decreases. The ointment causes intense hyperemia, redness and warming of the skin, and after half an hour there is maximum pain relief. There are a lot of indications for the use of Finalgon, this is back pain: backache, rheumatism and osteochondrosis, and in general, pain in the lower back. Due to the intense burning and warming effect, it is strictly contraindicated to apply it on the chest, on the region of the heart, on the neck. It is advisable to start treatment with Finalgon with an amount of no more than one pea, in order to assess how the body tolerates this ointment.

And only then, in combination with drugs, you can apply and rub a column on the desired area, but not longer than 1 cm, and not more than three times a day. It is very important after applying the ointment with light movements not to rub it, but be sure to wash your hands with soap so that there is no burning sensation. It is strictly forbidden to grab the eyes with hands lubricated with Finalgon. This wonderful ointment is produced by Boehringer Ingelheim, and one small tube of 20 g will cost about 300 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

Finalgon is actively used in sports medicine, it warms up muscles and fiber very well, and helps fight chronic pain. But if the patient has an asthenic physique, thin skin, low pain threshold, then Finalgon will not suit him. The patient will have a very strong burning sensation, redness of the skin, up to contact dermatitis and bronchospasm. It should not be used in pregnant and lactating women, persons with high blood pressure, and this ointment should be kept away from children, in order to avoid contact with the mouth and eyes and nose.

Apizartron

Rating: 4.8

Apizartron is one of the few ointments containing bee venom and some NSAIDs, a salicylic acid derivative. The ointment warms and anesthetizes, and of course, can only be used for those who tolerate honey and bee products. The ointment very well removes acute and chronic pain in the lower back, is used for sports injuries, radiculitis, various types of neuralgia, for example, neuralgia of the intercostal nerves. Apizartron is taken in the form of a small strip, no longer than 3 cm, and is evenly distributed over the required area, and is easily rubbed with massaging movements. On average, a feeling of warmth occurs after 3 minutes, and after that the ointment must be carefully and slowly, thoroughly rubbed. After rubbing, dry heat, a dog or camel hair belt, or other treatments can be applied. The course of treatment is about a week, and the German company Lichtenfeld produces Apizartron, the cost of an ointment weighing 20 g will be about 270 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

Bee venom excites nerve endings, dilates blood vessels, and active metabolism, along with an increase in pain threshold, relieves the unpleasant sensation of back pain. The minus of Apizartron can be considered its intense smell, as well as the prohibition to use it in case of violation of the integrity of the skin. It is not applied to areas with psoriasis, with acute arthritis, children, pregnant and lactating women, people with kidney and liver damage. In the case of Apizartron, it is also necessary to ensure that the ointment does not get into the eyes.

Nyatox

Rating: 4.7

Nayatox contains another venom, not bee venom, but snake venom. The dry poison of the common cobra has a very beneficial effect, improves blood circulation, and as a result, eucalyptus oil, camphor and methyl salicylate have an anti-inflammatory effect. Additionally, camphor irritates the skin and cools, so Nayatox is a balanced ointment between warming and cooling effects. Indications for applying the ointment are acute back pain, arthrosis, neuralgia, sciatica, radicular symptoms. The ointment should be applied no more than 2 times a day, and no longer than 10 days. The ointment is produced in Vietnam, where there are snake farms, and the average price of a tube of the same volume is 200 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

A big plus of Nayatox is the fast development of the effect, the snake venom is intensively absorbed, and causes the release of biogenic amines during vasodilation. Nayatox improves blood circulation just as quickly as Finalgon, but without excessive burning. The drug is well tolerated, there are few contraindications. These are pregnancy, breastfeeding, severe liver and kidney failure.

Gels and creams for back pain

How is a gel or cream different from an ointment? Gels dry and absorb very quickly, do not stain clothes, because their base is not oily, but water. The gel dries very quickly, but the cream is a little slower, because its base is an emulsion, and it penetrates much deeper than a gel, but not as deep as an ointment. Therefore, at the very beginning, with acute and severe pain, it is advisable to use “heavy artillery”, in the form of an ointment, and then, when the pain syndrome subsides, switch to gels and creams.

Fastum – gel

Rating: 4.9

This is a very popular colorless gel with a pleasant smell that contains ketoprofen. Ketoprofen is also found in a famous injection called Ketonal, and is also one of the most powerful non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Fastum-gel anesthetizes, absorbs very quickly, reduces the severity of pain, improves mobility in the back, and stiffness in it. Fastum-gel is indicated for acute back pain, soft tissue injuries, radicular neurological symptoms, and also as a means of completing a therapeutic and prophylactic massage. This gel is not burning, applied in a strip, usually no longer than 5 cm, and quickly rubbed with light movements. A course of one week twice a day is enough. This gel is produced in Germany, and one tube will cost about 340 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

This gel is very good for acute, but not very pronounced pain syndrome, as well as in the stage of fading inflammation. If you start using it with severe pain, without injections and pills, then it is unlikely that he will cope with this pain syndrome alone. Therefore, the ideal option is to use it together with injections or tablets. Since ketoprofen belongs to non-steroidal drugs, when applied to large areas in patients with gastritis or an ulcerative process, an exacerbation or heartburn may occur. This drug is not used in pregnant women and women during lactation, as well as in children under 15 years of age.

Dolobene

Rating: 4.8

A gel like Dolobene is not often prescribed. It contains heparin, which thins the blood, as well as dimexide, which irritates and anesthetizes. Dolobene also contains dexpanthenol, which improves skin trophism. Such a set of ingredients helps to quickly normalize the condition in the presence of soft tissue edema, which is why sports doctors love Dolobene so much. But you can use it not only for sprains of the back muscles, but also for radicular pain, because there is also swelling of the nerve structures. Dolobena is applied in a thin layer, on average, 3 times a day to the skin of the back and rubbed with light movements. This is a German drug, it is not cheap, and one tube weighing 100 g, that is, very large, costs 550 rubles, but this tube lasts for a long time.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of this gel is the absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components. Therefore, it can be used in people with stomach ulcers, gastritis, aspirin asthma. Dolobene can be used for phonophoresis, under a bandage, but there are also contraindications, for example, intolerance to heparin, taking warfarin, pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as children under six years of age.

Comfrey-cream

Rating: 4.7

This cream contains many natural herbal ingredients: comfrey extract, capsicum, rosemary oil, camphor and sesame. This is an example of a good parapharmaceutical product, that is, a biologically active additive at the drug level. The cream warms, capillary blood flow improves, lactic acid is removed from the muscles, skin trophism improves. Since comfrey is not a medicine, this cream is very good at the recovery stage when the intensity of pain is low. It is perfect as a means by which a therapeutic massage is completed, and when a slight myofascial pain syndrome occurs. The cream is applied no more than 3-4 times a day. Comfrey – the cream is produced in Russia, and the cost of the cream is low, about 120 rubles. for a volume of 100 ml.

Advantages and disadvantages

It is inexpensive, mild and safe. It is not a stinging cream, it is well tolerated, and only very rarely can allergic skin reactions be noticed. A big plus is the possibility of its combination with other gels and ointments, but if there is a very severe pain that has arisen recently, then in the first days of a pronounced pain syndrome, this drug will be ineffective, especially if it is used alone, without drugs.

Patches for back pain

Finally, in conclusion of a brief review of back pain remedies, it is necessary to recall such a local dosage form as patches. A patch is a dense carrier coated with a drug that is temporarily attached or adhered to the surface of the skin. On the one hand, the patch allows you to cover the place of application from above, and on the other hand, absorption of the medicinal substance into the skin from the surface of the patch is more intense. Currently, there are many patches that increase the pain threshold, contain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cool, or warm. Consider some simple types of patches that can eliminate or reduce acute back pain.

Pepper plaster

Rating: 4.9

Pepper patch can be purchased at every pharmacy. In fact, this is a more economical and less dirty version of Capsicam, that is, a warming ointment based on cayenne pepper extract. Pepper patch also contains pepper fruit extract, rosin, vaseline oil and lanolin, as well as belladonna extract. The patch is moderately irritating, increases blood circulation in the epidermis, has a distracting effect and relieves spasm of superficially located muscles. It is used for pain, the source of which will be the structures of the musculoskeletal system, with lumbago, with sciatica, with sports muscle strains and with intercostal neuralgia.

This tool is used in the same way as all other patches. After removing the protective film, the patch is applied to the surface of the skin, and can stay on the skin for a day, or even two days. The most popular patch size is 10 by 18 cm. It is produced in Novosibirsk, by a local chemical pharmaceutical plant, and is very inexpensive: one plate costs about 50 rubles.

Advantages and disadvantages

This is a popular, cheap, well-warming and non-staining way to reduce severe pain. Pepper, its hotness, can even reduce chronic, neuropathic pain that can occur as a result of herpes zoster, that is, due to postherpetic neuralgia. The use of such a patch may allow such patients to reduce the amount of pain medication, and, accordingly, the load on the liver. However, before applying the patch, it is advisable to degrease the skin so that the patch adheres better. And before the first use, it is desirable to determine the hypersensitivity by gluing a small piece for a few minutes on the skin of the wrist.

Versatis (with lidocaine)

Rating: 4.8

The presence of lidocaine in the patch allows you to eliminate even quite severe pain, and it can be used even on the first and second days of the onset of severe pain. Stronger than lidocaine, perhaps, only Durogesic, that is, a patch containing fentanyl, a narcotic analgesic. Some experts even call Versatis a “mild form of therapeutic blockade”, since the component penetrates deep into the muscles and paravertebral tissue. Therefore, in the first days with sciatica, sciatica and neuralgia, with lumbago and lumbago, this patch will help a lot. It has a strong analgesic effect, and there is a package for sale in pharmacies in which there are five plates measuring 10 by 13 cm. The effect of the patch lasts 12 hours, it is glued in the evening, at night. If you apply the patch together with drugs, injections at the very beginning of the pain syndrome, then the pain will recede much faster. Versatis is a German plaster produced by the Grunenthal company, and a pack of 5 patches will cost you 650 rubles

Advantages and disadvantages

A strong analgesic effect is the main plus of this patch. But the patch only relieves pain, but does not affect the inflammatory process, muscle spasm, and the effect of protrusion or hernia on soft tissues. Therefore, if a patient has a pronounced pain syndrome that occurs with a sequestered hernia, then he needs an urgent operation, and using this patch, he will drown out the pain and lose precious time. As a result, damaged nerves will never recover. Therefore, the doctor should prescribe this patch, making sure that the patient needs precisely conservative treatment, and the patient himself can buy it for himself already with familiar pain, which does not occur for the first time, but as an exacerbation of a well-known process. And its use together with drugs can reduce the duration of disability, and provide the patient with a good sleep.

Attention! This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.