Eperisone for low back pain

What is it about?

Eperisone, an analgesic and centrally acting muscle relaxant has been in use for the treatment of low back pain (LBP). The present systematic review evaluates the efficacy and safety of eperisone in patients with LBP. Seven (5 randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and 2 uncontrolled studies) studies involving 801 participants were included. Eperisone intervention may be effective in acute LBP patients with less adverse effects. Eperisone also improved paraspinal blood flow and was found to have efficacy similar to tizanidine in chronic LBP patients. The included studies in this review are of smaller sample size and short duration to support eperisone use in LBP. However, we recommend well-designed RCTs of high quality with larger sample size and longer follow-up to confirm the clinical benefits of eperisone in the treatment of acute or chronic LBP.

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Why is it important?

In consideration to the challenges associated with choosing the most appropriate treatment for LBP and the limitations associated with paracetamol, NSAIDs, opioids, and muscle relaxants, the authors performed a systematic literature review to assess the efficacy and safety of eperisone in the treatment of LBP. We also sought to draw a conclusion whether eperisone finds its place in the treatment of LBP and thus aiding the clinicians in choosing the appropriate drug for LBP.

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