Individuals with spine problems may experience spasms of the muscles of the back, neck or extremities.  Muscle relaxants give symptomatic relief of these symptoms.  They do not treat the underlying problem, but rather take the edge off the symptoms while the condition improves with time and/or treatments.  For acute low back pain, muscle relaxants improve pain, muscle tension, and mobility. For chronic low back pain, muscle relaxants may relieve pain and lead to some overall improvement. There are side effects of muscle relaxants to consider, including:

• Drowsiness
• Dry Mouth
• Urinary Retention
• Possible dependence

Below is a list of the more common muscle relaxants:

Generic name	Trade Names
Baclofen	Lioresal
Carisoprodol	Soma
Chlorzoxazone	Parafon Forte
Cyclobenzaprine	Fexmid, Flexeril, Amrix
Diazepam	Valium
Metaxalone	Skelaxin
Methocarbamol	Robaxin
Orphenadrine	Norflex
Tizanidine	Zanaflex