Flexeril

Let’s talk about Flexeril. It’s one of those drugs that’s been in the toolkit for decades—since the 70s, actually—and you either have a comfort zone with it or you’ve seen enough side effects to be wary. Officially, it’s cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, a centrally-acting skeletal muscle relaxant. But in the trenches of primary care and ortho clinics, it’s that script we reach for when a patient hobbles in with an acute back spasm, often after a weekend of overdoing it.