What are muscle relaxers? They are prescription medications that alter the function of your muscles. It is important to know that there are no over the counter muscle relaxers in the United States. Muscle relaxers must be prescribed by a healthcare provider. Some of the top prescribed muscle relaxer medications that healthcare providers provide are:
What are muscle relaxers? iStock-photo credit: Jitendra Jadhav
- Orphenadrine
- Metaxalone
- Carisoprodol
- Chlorzoxazone
- Methocarbamol
Muscle relaxants are typically used to help relieve acute back and chronic pain. Low back pain is a common issue for people that are older or elderly.
Muscle relaxers depress the central nervous system, and it prevents the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain. Muscle relaxers are available in pills, injections, tablets, solutions, etc. A pharmacist or healthcare providers would be the individual giving you specific instructions on how to take the medication.
One of the reasons why you shouldn’t drive is if you take a muscle relaxer because it will make you sleepy and affect your central nervous system. Some of the side effects of muscle relaxers are the following:
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Headache
- Drowsiness
- Lightheadedness
Some of the more serious side effects are blurred vision or fainting. It is important to know that if you are taking a muscle relaxer you should drink alcohol simultaneously. Why? Because they are both depressants and can drastically slow down your central nervous system.
Taking them together is extremely dangerous and leads to symptoms such as low blood pressure, memory problems, blurred vision, liver toxicity, etc.
If you overdose on muscle relaxers it can lead to cardiac arrest, coma, hallucinations, seizures and up to death.
The Bottom Line is muscle relaxers, a prescription-based medicine used to treat acute pain in your body. And most of the time it is used to treat acute back pain.
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References
- Elliott JA. Muscle Relaxants and α2 Agonists for Pain Management. In: Bajwa ZH, Wootton R, Warfield CA, eds. Principles and Practice of Pain Medicine, 3e. McGraw Hill; 2016.
- Gladson B, Myslinski M, Streifer M. Principles of Pharmacology and Selective Agents in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In: Mitra R, eds. Principles of Rehabilitation Medicine. McGraw Hill; 2019.
- Soprano SE, Hennessy S, Bilker WB, Leonard CE. Assessment of Physician Prescribing of Muscle Relaxants in the United States, 2005-2016 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7315288/). JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Jun; 3(6):e207664. Accessed 2/7/2023.
- Witenko C, Moorman-Li R, Motycka C, Duane K, et al. Considerations for the Appropriate Use of Skeletal Muscle Relaxants for the Management of Acute Low Back Pain (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103716/). P T. 2014 Jun; 39(6):427-435. Accessed 2/7/2023.
