Acetaminophen for low back pain

Examples

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Brand Name	Chemical Name
Tylenol	acetaminophen

How It Works

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Acetaminophen is an analgesic, or pain reliever. Acetaminophen does not reduce inflammation, as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) do. Whether reducing inflammation helps people with low back pain is not known.

Why It Is Used

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Acetaminophen is typically used for mild to moderate pain.

How Well It Works

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Acetaminophen is commonly used to treat both acute and chronic low back pain. Although it has not been proven to be effective for new or sudden (acute) low back pain, it is likely to help relieve more long-lasting (chronic) low back pain.^{1, 2}

Like other pain medicines, acetaminophen works best if it is taken on a regular schedule instead of only when pain is severe.

Side Effects

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Side effects of acetaminophen are rare. Nausea and rash are the most common.

High doses of acetaminophen can cause liver damage.

Reasons not to take acetaminophen

Do not take acetaminophen if you:

• Have kidney disease.
• Have liver disease.
• Drink alcohol heavily (three or more drinks a day).

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

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Acetaminophen can be used by people whose stomachs cannot tolerate NSAIDs like aspirin or ibuprofen.

Acetaminophen is present in a lot of combination products, such as Tylenol 3 and cold medicines. It is important to check all products you are taking at one time to make sure that you don't take more than the recommended dosage.

Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.

References

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Citations

1. Van Tulder M, Koes B (2004). Low back pain (acute). Clinical Evidence (12): 1643–1658.

2. Van Tulder M, Koes B (2004). Low back pain (chronic). Clinical Evidence (12): 1657–1682.

Credits

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Author	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Author	Lila Havens
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Katy E. Magee, MA
Associate Editor	Michele Cronen
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Primary Medical Reviewer	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Kathie Hummel-Berry, PT, PhD - Physical Therapy
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Robert B. Keller, MD - Orthopedics
Last Updated	February 15, 2006