‘Paracetamol medications are no more effective than a placebo for the most common illnesses or injuries’, a recent medical review of the drug has revealed.

Everyone has their own ways of dealing with aches and pains.  Using Paracetamol as a treatment for pain, has been questioned in this review.  This is quite shocking to most people.

The most ineffective use of paracetamol is when it is taken for back pain, University of Sydney researchers have concluded in a review for the Medical Journal of Australia.

This is the surprising conclusion that a group of researchers from the Sydney University came to recently when they looked at research involving 44 different painful conditions.

In most of these conditions, they found that there was no clear evidence that taking Paracetamol had any more effect than taking a placebo.

One of the most significant findings was that there was high quality evidence that oral paracetamol (up to 3.99 g per day for up to four weeks) was not superior to placebo for treating acute low back pain.

Alternatives to medication

There are other useful alternatives to reduce pain, such as heat and cold, which are almost as quick and easy as ‘popping a Panadol’, but more importantly, are also natural.

Both heat and cold are extremely useful for both pain relief and injury management.

Ice is commonly used in acute injuries to reduce both pain and swelling. It achieves this by reducing the blood flow to the injured area and by decreasing nerve conduction velocity. It is also very effective in reducing pain and inflammation in conditions such as arthritis.

Heat also can be extremely useful for pain relief.  Muscle pain might result from strains, overuse, or even just by using a muscle in a way it hasn’t been used before. Muscle tissue can often have painful ‘knots’ and trigger points, which can be responsible for quite severe and ongoing pain. Heat can reduce muscle tension and promote relaxation, giving quick and lasting pain relief.

Heat can also work on the sensory nerve endings to block the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Blood flow is also increased by opening up (or dilating) the blood vessels, to allow more effective healing of the tissues.

You can read more about this important research in the Medical journal of Australia. The efficacy and safety of paracetamol for pain relief: an overview of systematic reviews | The Medical Journal of Australia (mja.com.au)