Is Tylenol Safe for Back Pain?

Recently, Fortune reported that a study showed that people with lower back pain were no better off taking Tylenol than taking a placebo—this is alarming as “chronic pain effects about 100 million adults and cost the United States $635 billion each year in medical treatment,” according to the news outlet.

Tylenol (acetaminophen) has been linked to complications, including liver failure.

Fortune reported that lower back pain is the leading cause of disability nationwide and a big profit generator for pharmacies. According to the study, researchers in Australia tracked more than 1,600 people with lower back pain and found that recovery times were nearly the same among a group taking a placebo and a group taking Tylenol. In fact, those who took the placebo recovered one day earlier from their pain.

“The results suggest we need to reconsider the universal recommendation to provide paracetamol as a first-line treatment for low-back pain, although understanding why paracetamol works for other pain states, but not low-back pain, would help direct future treatments,” said Dr. Christopher Williams of the George Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney in Australia, according to Fortune.

Is Tylenol Safe?

Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent out a warning letter indicating larger doses of acetaminophen could be unsafe to a patient’s liver. The letter urged patients and doctors to “stop taking, prescribing and dispensing medications containing more than 325 milligrams of acetaminophen.”

Acetaminophen is a leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States. If you have suffered liver damage or liver failure because you took Tylenol, call us today. Our Tylenol lawyers may be able to represent you. But, there may be time limits in which you must file a claim, so time is of the essence if Tylenol has injured you.

Zoll & Kranz, LLC – Defective Medical Drug and Device Lawyers

Source: http://fortune.com/2014/07/24/got-back-pain-study-finds-reaching-for-tylenol-may-not-help/