Muscle Relaxants: Benefits and Drawbacks, Including Soma (Protozol) Soma is an effective antispasmodic that acts quickly. A broad class of drugs known as skeletal muscle relaxants is used to treat two different clinical conditions: spasticity brought on by upper motor neuron syndromes (UMNS) and discomfort or spasms in the muscles brought on by peripheral motor disorders. Both of these clinical illness categories are included in spasticity. The FDA originally authorized Soma, sometimes referred to as carisoprodol, as a sedative painkiller in 2007. It is currently produced by Meda Pharmaceuticals and is the most potent medication on the list of substances that are frequently abused despite their strength.