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Drug Info

When to take muscle relaxers

These prescriptions are very effective at relieving certain types of pain
Laura Wheatman Hill
By | Jun. 30, 2022 Medically reviewed by Karen Berger, Pharm.D.

What are muscle relaxers | When to take muscle relaxers | Can you take muscle relaxers long term | Side effects

When you get hurt, you might be able to rest and get better in a day or so. Sometimes, however, the pain persists and can begin to affect your ability to enjoy your life, overall. You may be prescribed a muscle relaxer, a medication that decreases muscle tone for the purposes of alleviating musculoskeletal pain. These drugs have a sedative effect and can have some severe side effects. Here, we break down when to take a muscle relaxer. 

What are muscle relaxers for?

You may have injured yourself before or have wanted to loosen up a tight, sore muscle before an athletic event. You may or may not be wondering if muscle relaxers are the right drug for this situation. “Muscle relaxants target muscles to ease tension, help with spasms or contractions, and make muscles feel looser,” says Jacob Hascalovici, MD, Ph.D., the co-founder and chief medical officer at Clearing chronic pain care. 

There are two types of muscle relaxers: antispasmodics, which are generally used for acute injuries and affect the central nervous system, and antispastics, which target skeletal muscles, treating spasms from certain conditions. 

Commonly prescribed muscle relaxers include:

Many injuries and even the process of aging can cause muscle and body pain. However, muscle relaxers are usually for more severe injuries including spine injuries, injuries to the back or neck (especially those that cause muscle spasms), and some neurological conditions that cause painful muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis. 

RELATED: What is the best muscle relaxer?

When might you take a muscle relaxer?

A muscle relaxer can be taken when pain is present, day or night. However, “you should do so only if that’s what your physician advises,” Dr. Hascalovski says. “Some muscle relaxants can cause drowsiness that could affect your work, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.” Some people are in too much pain to concentrate on their work or life in the daytime, so they do take medication in order to get through their day without too much stress from struggling through pain.

Most people prefer to take muscle relaxers at night, not only because the drowsiness side effect makes them unable to concentrate on the tasks of the day, but because the pain relief effect of the drug helps them get a more restful, pain-free and spasm-free night of sleep. You will need to come up with a pain management plan with your care team that works for your lifestyle and current health needs, taking into consideration when you need to stay alert and awake for tasks such as driving.

Can you take muscle relaxers long-term?

Muscle relaxers work better as a short-term solution, due to a few factors. “Patients should not use muscle relaxers for more than two or three weeks, except if directed by their healthcare provider,” says Queen Buyalos, pharmacist and founder of ZLA Medical Writing. “Taking muscle relaxers longer than two or three weeks may increase the chances of falls, drug dependence, and abuse. Muscle relaxants should be used to treat acute pain caused by muscle spasms, rather than chronic pain.” 

However, Dr. Hascalovski points out: “While they are most frequently prescribed for the acute pain that often accompanies injuries, they can be appropriate in some cases for chronic pain as well. They are also appropriate for certain kinds of neurological conditions.” As always, follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for use and be sure to report new or worsening symptoms. 

Side effects

Besides the mostly commonly reported side effect of drowsiness, muscle relaxers have several other side effects to keep an eye out for. Adverse side effects include:

  • Weakness
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Dry mouth
  • Low blood pressure
  • Itchiness
  • Headache
  • Stomachache (and associated symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea)
  • Anxiety/nervousness 

Since these side effects can make you disoriented or impaired, you should not drink alcohol while taking them and avoid driving, especially until you know how they affect your coordination. Often, these medications work quickly, within 30 minutes, and you will feel the effects for four to six hours, depending on your dose and tolerance. 

Because of the increase in fall and injury risk, Dr. Buyalos does not recommend prescribing muscle relaxers to patients over the age of 65. 

It is fairly easy to overdose on muscle relaxers and they have drug interactions with many other medications. Always share your full health history and medication list with your provider to avoid these potentially fatal interactions. Signs of an overdose (or certain drug interactions where the adverse effects of the muscle relaxer are potentiated) include:

  • Hallucinations 
  • Seizures 
  • Shock 
  • Confusion
  • Slowed breathing
  • Coma

Seek medical attention immediately if you worry you have overdosed or are having an interaction. Addiction to muscle relaxers is possible, which is why they are not commonly recommended for long-term use. Be in communication with your healthcare provider about your pain and your pain needs to help come up with a plan to help you live the most active, pain-free life possible.