Skelaxin

Skelaxin is a popular brand name of the generic drug Metaxalone, sold by King Pharmaceuticals. Metaxalone is a muscle relaxant prescribed for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, especially those involving back pain. Metaxalone is a powerful drug and should be used with extreme caution by any patient.

Skelaxin Indications

Metaxalone is a general muscle relaxer used to calm muscular constriction and back spasms. It is most commonly prescribed for back muscle pain involving cramping and severe acute symptoms. Metaxalone is designed for short term relief and might be risky to use as a long term solution for muscular back pain. Metaxalone is far less effective when used to treat most structural spinal causes of back pain.

Metaxalone Warnings

Common side effects of Metaxalone include nausea, vomiting, sudden drowsiness or fatigue. Some patients experience severe gastrointestinal discomfort or headaches. Drug usage should be closely monitored by physicians to prevent the risk of problematic interactions or (mostly) psychological dependency from occurring. It is always best to stop using any prescription drug as soon as possible, to avoid known and unknown health problems.

Recommendation on Skelaxin

Muscle relaxants are commonly given to back pain patients, even if their complaints are not muscular in nature. Doctors have a difficult time justifying the logic in this treatment, but usually offer some anecdotal evidence that a relaxed patient feels less pain. Doping up your patients on drugs is not the best way to induce a feeling a relaxation in my humble opinion�

Short term use of a muscle relaxant is great for athletes and other patients who have suffered an acute back injury and merely need short term symptomatic treatment. However, when prescribed long term, Metaxalone becomes yet another oppressive therapy, which enslaves patients into hopeless treatment routines with no hope of curing anything�
Skelaxin to Back Pain Home page 4/25/08 Revised 6/6/08