Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

One would think that a medication known as a painkiller would be pretty effective at killing pain, but many back pain sufferers end up frustrated with their medication regimen because it’s not providing the relief they assumed it would. Painkillers, for the right patient in the right setting, can be an essential part of a comprehensive treatment program, but they can also fall flat for a number of reasons. Below, we take a closer look at why painkillers can sometimes be ineffective for back issues, and we discuss some more effective treatment options for your spinal discomfort.

Why Painkillers Can Be Ineffective For Back Pain

At their core, painkillers can be an ineffective treatment option for back pain because they target the symptoms of a problem, not the root issue. They can help to calm inflammation, and inflammation may be the source of your pain, but painkillers won’t address the reason inflammation developed in the first place.

For example, let’s look at some of the most common types of back pain and explain why painkillers aren’t a great treatment option on their own.

• Nerve Compression – Painkillers aren’t going to free a compressed nerve, although they can alleviate inflammation that is irritating a nerve, so they can provide some short-term relief. However, you need to figure out why inflammation is developing and target that issue to keep it from coming back, and painkillers won’t do that.
• Muscle Strains – Soft tissues tears also lead to a variety of uncomfortable spinal symptoms, and while painkillers can mask some of this discomfort, it will be rest and targeted strength training that gets these soft tissues back to full strength.
• Joint Degeneration – Some natural spinal joint degeneration can occur as we age, but painkillers only address the symptoms in the short term. Physical therapy, dietary improvements and weight loss will be more effective at helping joints maintain ideal function despite the natural breakdown that can come with aging.
• Fractures – Vertebral fractures won’t heal any faster because you take a painkiller; they need time and a gradual reintroduction to stress and activity for best results, although a painkiller can certainly lessen discomfort in the weeks that follow a fracture.

Painkillers are a passive treatment option that work best when paired with active interventions that focus on the root issue. They can make you more comfortable while you pursue a stretching therapy routine that helps restore flexibility and range of motion that could be causing an inflammatory response in your body. Painkillers can make it easier to get out of bed and do your physical therapy and strength training exercises after a fracture or a muscle tear. The ideal patient understands that painkillers are a complementary approach to a more comprehensive treatment program rooted in active interventions. They are not a “magic pill” that will fully cure your pain without any effort and intervention on your own.

We prescribe painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications all the time, but we only do so after having a conversation with patients about the role they will plan in their overall management plan. Having mismatched expectations about what painkillers will do for your back issue is a recipe for disappointment and a prolonged recovery effort, and nobody wants that.

To learn more about how certain painkillers can help you overcome the back problem you’re facing, or to see if a more active treatment program is better suited to your unique issue, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

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