When patients with low back pain visit the doctor, they are in usually in great discomfort. The doctor therefore tries to ease the initial discomfort before proceeding further. In most cases the doctor will prescribe oral pain medication, pain relieving applications, and if advisable, rubs and massages, heat or cold pack and other agents to relieve the pain. When the patient is comfortable, the doctor will begin investigation into the cause of the pain, which may require undergoing a number of diagnostic tests including imaging procedures.

Doctors, as a rule, start with less complex medication in an effort to bring relief to the sufferer. Therefore, the first group of pain medication prescribed is the acetaminophen based pain killers. These included generic formulas as well as branded ones such as Tylenol. However, this group of pain killers does ease pain and fever, but is less effective in combating inflammations.

Another group of pain medication is called the NSAIDs or Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Asprin is the best known brand of this category. The drugs have analgesic as well as anti-inflammatory effect. Though they may be more effective in some cases than the acetaminophen group, they are generally less well-tolerated.

Yet another group of medicines used as back pain medicine are the muscle relaxants. Low back pain in cases follows a pain spasm pain cycle. In order to prepare the patient for further therapy it is important that the spams are controlled. Muscle relaxants break the cycle and increase the range of motion allowing the patient to regain mobility after pain relief. Muscle relaxants have a sedative effect and should be monitored. The patients should also be cautioned against driving and using machinery.

Opioids are prescribed as back pain medicine in cases where the patient has not been able to obtain relief from other groups of pain killers. However the stigma associated with them and the degree of monitoring required to achieve balance without dependence places these drugs in ‘last resort’ category.
Corticosteroids have been used as oral therapy over the last couple of decades in the treatment of sciatica and acute low back pain. These drugs are administered in a tapering dose for approximately one week. The pain relief effect is dramatic, but the associated side effects are drastic therefore the drugs are only administered for limited duration to relieve back pain.

Colchicine has been used in acute cases of gout to bring pain relief. It has also been used in resistant disc disorders but its efficacy as a back pain medicine is yet to be determined. Another group of drugs that have been used with some degree of effectiveness in low back pain is the tricyclic anti-depressants. However, the care in administrating and the adverse reactions do not make them the drug category of choice.