So you know what the problem is, your muscles are sore. You want to get your hands on some prescription muscle relaxers and you know that shopping online is the cheapest and easiest way to do so. Problem solved, right? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.

You see, prescription muscle relaxers aren’t all the same. The first thing you need to know is which type of relaxer you need. Overall, they fall into two categories: neuromuscular blockers and spasmolytic muscle relaxers.

Neuromuscular blockers work by blocking neurotransmission activity to a specific muscle by inhibiting acetylcholine synthesis or its action at receptor sites. These are good for when you break something and need to alleviate pain in a specific place. If you’re looking to buy zanaflex, for example, you’re looking for this type of muscle relaxer. They are sometimes given by doctors as an alternative to anesthesia before beginning certain surgical procedures. In short, these are quite powerful and you should be sure they’re right for you before taking them.

The spasmolytic variety are much more general in how they work and are by far the most common. As the name suggests, these muscle relaxers try to alleviate pain by eliminating spasms. If you’re looking to buy robaxin to treat your back pain or another similar product, you are looking for a spasmolytic muscle relaxer. They’re also good if you have a sprain somewhere.

Generally, they work through the central nervous system, though this isn’t the case with all products that fall into this category. In fact, some have even suggested that a better name for them would be antispasmodic.

So that’s a general breakdown on muscle relaxers, but there are quite a few differences within those categories. While a specific med may make your pain go away, there may be side-effects, so I’d recommend doing your homework a bit.

First, get to know more about the different types of muscle systems in your body then have a look at the descriptions of different types of prescription muscle relaxers to find out what will work best for you.