Magnesium salicylate is a common analgesic

Analgesic

An analgesic is any member of the group of drugs used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....

 and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs or NAIDs, but also referred to as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents/analgesics or nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory medicines , are drugs with analgesic and antipyretic effects and which have, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory...

 (NSAID) used to treat mild to moderate muscular pain

Pain

Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...

. It is also used to treat headache

Headache

A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...

s, general back pain

Back pain

Back pain is pain felt in the back that usually originates from the muscles, nerves, bones, joints or other structures in the spine.The pain can often be divided into neck pain, upper back pain, lower back pain or tailbone pain...

, and certain joint pains like arthritis

Arthritis

Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

.

It is found in a variety of over-the-counter

Over-the-counter drug

Over-the-counter drugs are medicines that may be sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as compared to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription...

 (OTC) medications as an anti-inflammatory

Anti-inflammatory

Anti-inflammatory refers to the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation as opposed to opioids, which affect the central nervous system....

, primarily for back-pain relief. Magnesium salicylate can be an effective OTC alternative to prescription NSAIDs, with both anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects.

Though the recommended dosage is 1160 mg every six hours, per package directions of the Doan's OTC brand (580 mg magnesium salicylate tetrahydrate, equivalent to 467.2 mg anhydrous magnesium salicylate), effective pain relief is often found with a half dosage, with reduced anti-inflammatory results. note: Doan's extra strength OTC dose is 2 x 580 mg magnesium salicylate tetrahydrate every 6 hours, equivalent to 934.4 mg of anhydrous magnesium salicylate .

Brand names

• Doan's, Original (OTC), originally manufactured by by the Campana Corporation of Batavia, Illinois; subsequently,a division of Dow Chemical and thereafter a division of Purex, Inc; it was well after that Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. manufactured Doan's Pills
• Extra Strength Doan's (OTC), first manufactured by Campana and later by, among others,Novartis Consumer Health, Inc.
• Momentum (OTC)- this is now marketed as Percogesic (OTC)
• Arthriten (OTC)
• Keygesic-10 (Rx)
• Mobidin (Rx)
• Novasal (Rx)

Controversy

While magnesium salicylate is an alternative for pain relief, it still is an NSAID like others in its category, without any proven superiority over other over the counter type pain relievers (NSAID).

Doan's specifically, and the company producing it, Novartis, have been tried over their claim that the product is superior in providing pain relief. In June 1996, The FTC, Federal Trade Commission charged the company with violating federal law with its unsubstantiated claim. In March 1998, the court ruled in favor of the FTC but there was no stipulation about how the company should or would have to mend its advertising/packaging. Thus, Doan's is still marketed as a "superior treatment for back pain".