--- description: Acetaminophen isn't curing your aching after all title: Tylenol and Panadol Prove No Better Than Placebo at Helping Back Pain image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d82628ca967cbae/69869d2d361760114b90d33f/452593320.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [medicine](/tag/medicine/) ## medicine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tylenol and Panadol Prove No Better Than Placebo at Helping Back Pain  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jul 25, 2014 1:31 AM CUT  Paracetamol tablets sit on a table on July 24, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. In a new study published in the prestigious medical journal, 'The Lancet' the most common pain reliever for back pain, paracetamol, does not work any better than a placebo. Paracetamol tablets sit on a table on July 24, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. In a new study published in the prestigious medical journal, 'The Lancet' the most common pain reliever for back pain, paracetamol, does not work any better than a placebo.Scott Barbour—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Jul 25, 2014 1:31 AM CUT Two-thirds of adults experience back pain sometime during their lives, and most take acetaminophen, found in brands like Tylenol and Panadol, for relief. But new [research has found](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960805-9/abstract "undefined") that those medicines are no more helpful than swallowing a sugar pill. A study published this week in a medical journal called _The Lancet_ split 1,643 people with acute low-back pain into three groups, each given two boxes. One group received two boxes of 500-miligram acetaminophen tablets, with instructions to use the second box “as needed’; the second group got a box of acetaminophen and an as-needed box of placebos; and the third group received two boxes of placebos. Researchers told the participants to take six tablets per day from the regular box and up to two from the as-needed box. Over the course of three months, the researchers found no difference among the three groups. Subjects showed no variation in terms of pain, recovery time, function, disability, symptom change, sleep or quality of life. About 75% of the participants were happy with their results, whether or not they had received the placebos. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3031862/tylenol-and-panadol-prove-no-better-than-placebo-at-helping-back-pain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3031862/tylenol-and-panadol-prove-no-better-than-placebo-at-helping-back-pain/"},"headline":"Tylenol and Panadol Prove No Better Than Placebo at Helping Back Pain","datePublished":"2014-07-25T01:31:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:20:32.413Z","description":"Acetaminophen isn't curing your aches after all","url":"https://time.com/3031862/tylenol-and-panadol-prove-no-better-than-placebo-at-helping-back-pain/","keywords":["medicine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d82628ca967cbae/69869d2d361760114b90d33f/452593320.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0d82628ca967cbae/69869d2d361760114b90d33f/452593320.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paracetamol Reportedly Not Effective Drug For Back Pain","caption":"Paracetamol Reportedly Not Effective Drug For Back Pain","creditText":"Scott Barbour—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3031862/tylenol-and-panadol-prove-no-better-than-placebo-at-helping-back-pain/","name":"Tylenol and Panadol Prove No Better Than Placebo at Helping Back Pain"}}]}] ```