Research: There is a small difference between aspirin and placebo

Widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for low back pain, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, "catch" just a little longer than placebo, according to a new Australian scientific study.

The study concluded that these drugs (NSAIDs) actually have a real effect on only one patient in six, while patients taking them are two and a half times more likely to suffer from gastrointestinal side effects, such as ulcers and bleeding in the stomach.

Researchers at the George's Institute for Global Health at the University of Sydney School of Medicine, led by Associate Professor Manuela Ferreira, published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. NSAID trials involving a total of 35 patients with low back pain. The conclusion was that these drugs provided little to no benefit.

"Our findings show that these drugs provide very limited short-term pain relief. "They do reduce the level of pain, but very slightly and to a degree that is not clinically significant," Ferreira said.

"When you take into account the side effects that are very common, it becomes clear that these drugs are not the answer to providing relief to the many millions of people who suffer from these pains every year," he added.

Four-fifths of people will experience back pain at some point in their lives. At any given time, about one in six people experience such pain. The researchers stressed - after the new findings - the need to find more effective drug treatments for these pains.

Previous research has found that paracetamol is ineffective in low back pain, while opioids also benefit slightly more than a placebo.

Source: RES-EAP