Similarities and dissimilarities between Soma and Flexeril

Soma and Flexeril are two FDA-approved pain medicines used to treat musculoskeletal pain and muscle spasms. Soma is a brand of Carisoprodol, whereas Flexeril is a brand of Cyclobenzaprine. Both muscle relaxants belong to the same drug class (skeletal muscle relaxant) and are prescription-use only. These two oral pain medicines have different onset of action. Soma takes 30 minutes to show a positive effect; on the other hand, Flexeril takes 1 hour.

The Soma vs. Flexeril study shows that Soma is more potent than Flexeril. Soma is also more cost-effective than Flexeril. Therefore, Soma is a better choice of muscle relaxant than Flexeril.