Over-the-Counter Muscle Relaxers: Options, Side Effects, & Risks

An addiction occurs when a person loses control over their substance use and continues to use despite its negative consequences. However, its sedative effects may produce a type of “pleasure” that the individual may want to repeat. It can also be dangerous to mix methocarbamol with other is tizanidine stronger than flexeril medications. Doing so may cause an interaction, whether it is with medications, vitamins, or herbs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of methocarbamol in 1957. Seek immediate medical attention if you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of an overdose.

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While all the medicines are effective, one specific muscle relaxant might work better than others for you. Flexeril (generic name cyclobenzaprine) was developed in the 1970s. Flexeril works on the central nervous system to reduce motor activity or muscle contractions, thus, relieving muscle spasms. According to systematic reviews, almost all muscle relaxers are comparable in effectiveness.

Methocarbamol vs Soma

It is imperative to discuss with a physician the health conditions faced, and the current medication in order to get safe recommendations. Even though both of the drugs are under the same drug class, Robaxin vs Flexeril differ in dosages and length of use. Robaxin is usually dosed multiple times a day while Flexeril can be taken once a day.

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Healthcare providers prescribe them to treat several symptoms, such as muscle spasms, spasticity and musculoskeletal pain. In this comparison, both drugs are under the same drug class and both have the same indications – treatment for muscle pain and spasms. Additionally, these two drugs are less sedating compared to other skeletal muscle relaxants. However, in Skelaxin use, there is a risk of liver damage or kidney problems. Methocarbamol works as a muscle relaxer by blocking pain sensations that reach the brain.

What Is The Half-life Of Methocarbamol?

Typically, muscle relaxers can cause sedative effects or block pain signals from nerves to your brain. You should have regular appointments with your healthcare provider when taking a muscle relaxant to assess how well it’s working. As most muscle relaxers act as sedatives, some people take muscle relaxers alone or in combination with other drugs for nonmedical reasons to produce or enhance feelings of euphoria and dissociation. Yes, prescription muscle relaxers can make you sleepy due to how they affect your central nervous system.

• Caudal steroid injections consist of both steroid medication and a local anesthetic.
• An overdose occurs when a person takes too much of a drug or mixes it with other substances.
• Healthcare providers prescribe them to treat several symptoms, such as muscle spasms, spasticity and musculoskeletal pain.
• The former has very little risk of addiction, while tapering is advised for the latter in order to prevent withdrawal symptoms, especially for patients who have been on high doses for an extended period.
• Keep in mind that regular cyclobenzaprine tablets may require dosing of up to 3 times a day.

Alcohol increases the sedative effects of the drugs and, in some cases, can lead to severe respiratory depression and death. Many are prescribed in tablet, capsule, or liquid form, but there are also injectable forms used for rapid relief of acute pain. Our writers and reviewers are experienced professionals in medicine, addiction treatment, and healthcare. AddictionResource fact-checks all the information before publishing and uses only credible and trusted sources when citing any medical data. The Verified badge on our articles is a trusted sign of the most comprehensive scientifically-based medical content.

Cyclobenzaprine is the most heavily studied and has been shown to be effective for various musculoskeletal conditions. The sedative properties of tizanidine and cyclobenzaprine may benefit patients with insomnia caused by severe muscle spasms. Methocarbamol and metaxalone are less sedating, although effectiveness evidence is limited. Adverse effects, particularly dizziness and drowsiness, are consistently reported with all skeletal muscle relaxants. The potential adverse effects should be communicated clearly to the patient.

If you feel that you’re dependent on carisoprodol or diazepam or your prescribed dosage isn’t helping to manage your symptoms, don’t take more than your recommended dosage. Check your symptoms, explore conditions and treatments, and if needed, text with a healthcare provider in minutes. Pregnant and breastfeeding people should check with their healthcare provider and pharmacist before consuming muscle relaxers. While there aren’t any OTC muscle relaxers, some over-the-counter medications may help treat back pain, spasms, and other conditions that muscle relaxers also help. For the elderly, taking muscle relaxers can bring more harm than benefit.

Instead of using painkillers and muscle relaxers to cover pain signals, interventional pain management helps get into the root cause of the pain. Meanwhile, skeletal muscle relaxers like Dantrium, Flexeril, Lorzone, Robaxin, Skelaxin, Soma, and Zanaflex may need to be used with caution in people with preexisting liver or kidney disease. Conditions treated by Robaxin and Flexeril are almost the same, such as muscle spasms, pain, injury. Robaxin can also be used to treat tetanus, whereas Flexeril can be used off-label for fibromyalgia, a condition that causes intense fatigue, disturbed sleep and pain.

What is Robaxin?

The drug is better than placebo, but not superior to analgesics, sedatives or other muscle relaxants. It is of little value in chronic muscle spasm such as resulting from chronic arthritis or in contractures (White, 2000; Micromedex, 2003). Methocarbamol is a well-tolerated therapeutic option for patients suffering from acute lower back pain (Emrich et al. 2015). Recently preliminary studies, however, suggest that methocarbamol may improve patient recovery after rib fractures by decreasing intercostal muscle spasm (Patanwala et al. 2017). Studies have compared cyclobenzaprine, methocarbamol, and other skeletal muscle relaxants and found that they are equally effective in treating acute musculoskeletal conditions.