Back and Neck Pain

There is a tendency among many patients (and many doctors, unfortunately), to that pain medication actually treats pain and inflammation. If a drug can control the pain, then everything is fine. Reducing the pain with drugs does not address the cause of the problem and there are side-effects. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (commonly called NSAIDs) irritate […]

Muscle Pain Might be Related to Vitamin D Deficiency A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 patients with nonspecific musculoskeletal pain. Researchers measured the calcidoiol–an indicator of vitamin D ingestion–levels and found every patient to be vitamin D deficient. Out of the 150 patients, 28 percent had severely deficient vitamin D levels, 55 percent of

Eighty percent of Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. According to a survey of 800 adults suffering from chronic back pain conducted in the spring of 2004 for American Chiropractic Association,

According to a government survey of 31,000 people (May, 2004), more than a third of U.S. adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (also called CAM). The survey was conducted as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Some groups tend to use CAM

Manual Therapy Works Well for Neck Pain According to Annals of Medicine (May 21, 2002;136:713-722, 758-759), manual therapy may be more effective than other treatments like exercise or pain medication. Manual therapy is a “hands on” technique, in which the neck is manipulated to improve mobility (not unlike a chiropractic adjustment). In the study, researchers

For more articles on this and other health topics, click on the link to go to our practitioners’ directory and link to a web site that is loaded with information: Practitioners’ Directory For many, the traditional medical approach to pain has been very unsatisfactory.Too often people in pain are given drugs to mask their symptoms,

Fish Oil and Vitamin E have Anti-inflammatory Activity A combination of fish oil and vitamin E reduced the levels of cytokines (pro-inflammatory proteins that cause the joint swelling, pain and tenderness) in mice. This result found in a study lead by Jaya Venkatraman, Ph.D., University of Buffalo associate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy,

A study on mice performed by scientists at Emory University School of Medicine showed damaged peripheral nerves had improved regeneration when the mice were treated with enzymes. Peripheral nerves are the nerves that go from the spine to the muscle and skin. A nerve cell has a nucleus and a long process, called the axon.

TexasA&MUniversity psychologist Mary W. Meagher, who has conducted pain research for 16 years, says that fear and anxiety affect how a person experiences pain. Fear tends to reduce pain, anxiety increases it. She says, “From a clinical perspective, these data suggest that a patient anticipating an unpredictable threatening event will experience enhanced pain,” she says.

Patients frequently will incorporate natural health care to help address chronic pain. Frequently they will adopt various therapies without adopting the mindset that makes natural health care truly effective. They may take glucosamine or chondroitan supplements, or take herbs, like boswella or ginger, that can help to reduce inflammation. Often patients look at supplements like