Long-Term Use of Muscle Relaxants Has Tripled

A study by University of Pennsylvania (Penn) researchers in JAMA Network Open estimates that long-term use of muscle relaxants has nearly tripled in the United States since 2005, reports the Pain News Network . The authors believe many doctors are now prescribing the drugs as a substitute for opioids for long-term pain management. "There are few studies on the short-term efficacy and safety of skeletal muscle relaxants, and almost no data on their long-term effects, so it is very concerning that patients, and particularly older adults, are using these drugs for an extended period of time," said Penn Professor Charles Leonard. "Providers seem to be reaching for them despite incomplete information on their potential benefits and risks." The researchers discovered that the number of new muscle relaxant prescriptions remained stable from 2015 to 2016 at about 6 million annually, but office visits for renewals of muscle relaxant prescriptions increased threefold, from 8.5 million in 2005 to 24.7 million in 2016. Moreover, 67 percent of people receiving renewals for muscle relaxants in 2016 were also taking opioid medication, despite a warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that co-prescribing the drugs could lead to respiratory depression and overdose. "For older adults . . . the message should be to avoid using muscle relaxants, especially when we consider the side effects and increased risk of falls and fractures, and to find alternatives for pain management," said Penn's Samantha Soprano.