NSAIDS and Back Pain

Hi all,

Patients with back, neck, knee pain and pain in general are prescribed NSAIDs on routine basis assuming that their pain is due to inflammation. Inflammation as a diagnosis for chronic and recurrent back pain has been rejected by Dr. Sarno and I know from personal experience that even though initially NSAIDs helped my back pain ( perhaps, due to the placebo effect) they stopped working after a while even after increasing the dosage. Not only they stopped working I ended up with gastritis from taking NSAIDs.

Recently the US Food and Drug Administration issued its toughest warning yet against use of non-steroidal anti inflammatory medications, such as Advil and Naproxen.

"FDA is strengthening an existing warning in prescription drug labels and over-the-counter (OTC) Drug Facts labels to indicate that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke, either of which can lead to death. Those serious side effects can occur as early as the first few weeks of using an NSAID, and the risk might rise the longer people take NSAIDs. (Although aspirin is also an NSAID, this revised warning doesn’t apply to aspirin.)...People who have cardiovascular disease, particularly those who recently had a heart attack or cardiac bypass surgery, are at the greatest risk for cardiovascular adverse events associated with NSAIDs."

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm453610.htm

So if you want to avoid NSAIDs, what can you do when you are injured and need relief from pain?

1. In case of physical injury I try arnica gel first.

Once on the way to a wedding I had a flat tire. While I was putting on the spare, jack slipped from under the car (uh-oh!) and the car came down on my hand (oh No!)

My right hand (yes, I am right handed) got stuck between the car and the spare tire. I thought to myself," This is not good." An understatement indeed.

Many thoughts raced through my mind including loss of my hand, several surgeries, months or years of therapy.

I decided to somehow get my hand out. So I started wiggling it. Slowly but surely after many wiggles my hand was free. My hand was throbbing with pain but I knew the important test was to see if I could make a fist. So I began to slowly close my finger to make a fist. And, thank God, I did.

So no bones were broken, no need for a cast, or surgery. My hand was hurting but I knew I would eventually be OK.

I went to the wedding with a bag of ice on my hand. And that night my sister-in-law said arnica gel could help relieve the pain.

So we bought some from a local pharmacy and as soon as I rubbed some on my hand the pain was gone. Unbelievable. In fact, I slept comfortably all night.

It took about four week for my hand to heal and the pain to completely disappear. However, arnica gel was there to take the edge off and help me make it through the day.

Arnica is available as tablets for internal use. I have taken it for occasional headaches or injuries. Much safer than NSAIDs.

Arnicare brand gel is the one I use.
http://www.amazon.com/Boiron-Arnica...=UTF8&qid=1441759617&sr=8-2&keywords=Arnicare

And for internal use I take
http://www.amazon.com/Arnica-Montan...8&qid=1441759789&sr=1-3&keywords=arnica+pills

Or
http://www.amazon.com/Boiron-Arnica...8&qid=1441759789&sr=1-2&keywords=arnica+pills


2. Another option is the amino acid L-arginine.

L-arginine increases blood flow by increasing production of nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels. Scientists who discovered this won the Nobel prize in medicine.

Last year when a car I was riding in was rear ended. I ended up with a severe head and neck pain immediately upon impact. I knew that reduction of blood flow can cause pain. So instead of taking NSAIDs, which was what the doctor recommended, I started taking 2000 mg of L-arginine 2-3 times a day. Within 15-20 minutes of each dose on an empty stomach my neck and head felt very little pain or discomfort.

For fast action I take the NOW brand L-arginine powder. Tastes terrible but works great.

http://www.amazon.com/NOW-Foods-L-A...1761847&sr=1-1&keywords=now+l-arginine+powder

I also take Dr. Mercola's L-arginine because it is time released so the L-arginine level is sustained in the blood.

http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Mercola-L-...42&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Mercola+l-+-arginine

If you decide to take L-arginine start with lowest dose and see how it works with your body.

3. Acupuncture works great for pain.

Another alternative to NSAIDs is acupuncture when you can receive treatment from an experienced acupuncturist.

Although acupuncture works great for actual physical injury, it only brings temporary relief for cases of pain caused by tension.

I hope above suggestions can help you avoid taking NSAIDs as much as possible. For more health tips visit my Medical Secrets Blog

http://www.rapidrecovery.net/secrets.html

Stay informed. Stay well.