Cure osteochondrosis is completely impossible. But to reduce the pain can be, for example, with the help of physiotherapy or reflexology. But in some cases only muscle relaxants can help. These are drugs that relax the muscles of a person.
Do muscle relaxants help with osteochondrosis?
The list of preparations of muscle relaxants used for osteochondrosis is very extensive:
- Methocarbamol;
- Orphenadrine;
- Chlorfenazine carbamate;
- Baclofen;
- Cyclobenzaprine;
- Chloroxazone;
- Carisoprodol.
But all these medicines are united by one feature - they are able to completely immobilize skeletal muscles. Previously, muscle relaxants were used only for anesthesia purposes to "extinguish" the reflex activity of the muscles during various operations. Today, you can use muscle relaxant medications for osteochondrosis. But only in the case when the disease was the cause of discomfort when moving or limiting mobility due to severe pain.
By themselves, muscle relaxants in osteochondrosis will not give any therapeutic effect. They should be used solely as ancillary means to increase the effectiveness of other methods of treating the disease. To improve the motor function, they are used together with:
- Exercise therapy;
- manual therapy ;
- physiotherapy;
- therapeutic massage.
Also, muscle relaxants significantly improve the action of various pain medications.
Rules for the use of muscle relaxants
Basically, muscle relaxants with cervical osteochondrosis or osteochondrosis of the lumbosacral spine are injected intramuscularly. These drugs are highly polar, therefore their effectiveness in oral administration is minimal.
The first use of muscle relaxants is recommended in a hospital hospital under the supervision of a doctor. After the end of the procedure, it is important to carefully monitor the patient's condition, since these drugs have side effects. The likelihood of their appearance depends on the individual response to medications and the characteristics of the patient's body. Side effects of muscle relaxants are:
- drowsiness;
- apathy and lethargy;
- vomiting and nausea;
- a state of increased unhealthy excitability or, conversely, an unexplained euphoria;
- drowsiness;
- dizziness;
- headache;
- low concentration of attention.
Some patients develop a severe rash that covers the entire body or parts of it. It can represent red spots, nodules, blisters or pustules. In rare cases, the patient has sudden seizures. There are also cases when muscle relaxants for the neck and lumbosacral spine cause various violations of urination, for example, enuresis.
What muscle relaxants can be taken with osteochondrosis?
Very often with osteochondrosis, muscle relaxant drugs with the following names are used:
- Midokalm is a medicament from the group of central muscle relaxants. It has analgesic and
miorelaksiruyuschie action, has an insignificant vasodilating effect. - Baclofen - quickly weakens the painful muscle spasms. This medicine has analgesic effect. Due to this, it leads to a rapid improvement in the patient's condition and significantly increases mobility in the affected spine. Baclofen is not recommended for patients who have liver disease or diabetes mellitus.
- Sirdalud - has miorelaksiruyuschim and analgesic effect, especially effective in acute muscle spasms. This drug is prescribed with caution to the elderly.