CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT OF "LOW BACK SYNDROME"

Abstract

The effectiveness of a new muscle relaxant, carisoprodol, was tested in a study of 212 patients with pain, immobility, and muscle spasm in the lower part of the back. Conservative treatment, which included analgesic drugs and physical therapy, was used in a contratest group of 106 patients; the test group of 106 other patients received the conservative treatment plus carisoprodol. The initial dosage of carisoprodol was generally one 400-mg. tablet four times daily. The patients treated with carisoprodol returned to work in about one-quarter the time it took the conventionally treated patients. An equally striking difference was observed in a smaller study in which a contratest group of 35 patients received placebos. Six case histories illustrate the types of situation in which a relaxant drug can be expected to relieve the "low back syndrome."