Paracetamol is no better than placebo

02 April 2015 - 03:12 By Sarah Knapton

Paracetamol does not stop lower back pain and doctors should consider prescribing exercise instead, a major review has found. The over-the-counter painkiller, which is taken by millions of people around the world, turns out to be no better than a placebo.Although clinical guidelines in many countries recommend paracetamol as the first-line drug treatment for such conditions, it has little effect and could cause long- term liver damage, the University of Sydney warned in the British Medical Journal.Lead author Gustavo Machado said the new research showed that guidance must be changed."Paracetamol is the most widely used over-the-counter medicine for musculoskeletal conditions, so it is critical that we review treatment recommendations in light of this new evidence," he said."In our research, paracetamol for low back pain and osteoarthritis was also shown to be associated with higher risk of liver toxicity."Patients were nearly four times more likely to have abnormal results on liver function tests compared to those taking placebos."Britain's NHS spends about £80-million per year prescribing paracetamol, and the UK's medi-cines regulatory agency is carrying out a review into the dangers of the pain tablets...

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