Tylenol And Panadol Prove No Help For Back Pain

Millions of Americans suffer from back pain and many reach for Tylenol after a busy, productive weekend. But does it really help?

In a recent study it was shown that acetaminophen (found in brands like Tylenol and Panadol) is no more helpful than swallowing a sugar pill.

The study was published this week in a medical journal called "The Lancet" . They studied more than 1,000 people with acute low-back pain. The people were broken into three groups. One group received two boxes of 500-milligram acetaminophen tablets, with instructions to use the second box “as needed’; the second group got a box of acetaminophen and an as-needed box of placebos; and the third group received two boxes of placebos. Researchers told the participants to take six tablets per day from the regular box and up to two from the as-needed box.

After three months, there was really no difference between the three groups.

What do you do for pain?