What Is a Soma Medication?

Acute musculoskeletal conditions like backache have a large effect on our health-care system. The fifth-leading cause of visits to a doctor and one of the most costly physical ailments, back pain is weighing heavily on health-care expenditures in the U.S. Soma medication is part of a recommended treatment plan to put patients back in working order fast.

Defining Soma

• Soma is a brand name for the drug called carisoprodol. Soma is a central-acting muscle relaxant for relieving musculoskeletal conditions and is sold by itself and in combination with aspirin and sometimes codeine. It is marketed in the U.S. under the name Soma, but in other countries it is marketed as Sonoma or Carisoma. Sweden has removed carisoprodol from use because of dependence and abuse among patients.

Effects of Soma

• As a muscle relaxer, Soma works by blocking the information running between the brain and acutely tightened muscles. This abnormal constriction is called hypertonia, which is identified as a motor neuron dysfunction. It is not known exactly how Soma blocks the pain from hypertonia, but it is known that the drug does not work directly on the muscle. Soma offers an analgesic effect and relief from hypertonia, which allows the muscle to relax. To achieve the best results, Soma is usually combined with physical therapy and rest.

Side Effects of Soma

• A metabolite of Soma, meaning a metabolic result, is mepobramate. Mepobramate has sedative qualities that can be a dangerous side effect of taking Soma. Soma can impair the physical and mental state of a patient. Drug dependence, withdrawal and abuse are other identified side effects. The Food and Drug Administration notes that these side effects are found in longtime users of the drug, not those taking it for short periods of time.

Who Should Not Take Soma

• Those with renal or hepatic dysfunction are cautioned about taking Soma because of its excretion in the kidneys and metabolizing via the liver. Prolonged use of Soma in these patients has not been studied. Some Soma patients have experienced seizures. The National Library of Medicine, under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health, reports that seizures occur when patients take overdoses of Soma or take multiple drugs or combinations of prescribed or abused drugs.

Taking Soma

• Meda Pharmaceuticals makes Soma. In late 2007, the FDA approved Soma 250, a smaller dose of the original Soma. Two clinical trials provided information that showed fewer patients suffered side effects such as headache, drowsiness and dizziness. Soma is meant for short-duration prescriptions of two to three weeks.