Paracetamol ‘ineffective’ for most medical conditions

Paracetamol could be no better than a placebo when it comes to treating most common pain conditions.

The University of Sydney has looked at trial data for pain relief in 44 conditions.

The researchers found it only proved effective in a handful of cases, including knee and hip osteoarthritis and tension headaches.

But for most conditions it’s commonly used, such as migraines, back pain and common cold-related headaches, the evidence to support its use was low quality or inconclusive.

“We simply don’t have strong evidence to know whether it does or doesn’t work,” Dr Christina Abdel Shaheed, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, told 3AW Breakfast.

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