Antibiotics should not be used for chronic low back pain

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-05-19 01:00

Australia; VIC; TAS

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An Australian clinical trial has found that taking an antibiotic for three months does not help alleviate back pain in people with herniated discs, and the authors say antibiotics should not be used to treat back pain. Antibiotics have received attention as a treatment for back pain after studies found bacteria in the spinal discs of people with chronic lower back pain, and some trials had suggested they might be of benefit. The trial randomly assigned people to receive either a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate, or a placebo for 90 days and found no difference in pain reduction between the two groups at three months or 12 months.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Monash University, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania

Funder: The study is funded by grant APP1080774 from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). Dr Cicuttini, Dr Wluka, Dr Pan, Dr Leder, Dr Cheng, and Dr Urquhart received funding from NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1194829), Royal Australian College of Physicians Fellows Career Development Fellowship, NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (APP1157535), NHMRC Research Fellowship (APP1155005), NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1194678) and NHMRC/MRFF Career Development Fellowship (Level 2; 1142809), respectively

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