|
by Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D.
No More Aching Back
You reach over to pick up a magazine, open the car door and begin to lift a bag of groceries. A twinge strikes your lower back. In minutes the searing pain spreads and you’re incapacitated. Or you wake up after what you think is a good night’s sleep to find your back is stiff and very sore from playing that tennis match the day before.
You wonder what you did to bring on such crippling pain.
But there’s hope. Back pain sufferers are finding relief with a host of new treatments and prevention strategies. More important, researchers are setting conventional wisdom on its ear when it comes to preventing and healing some of the minor back injuries and pain with natural alternatives and supplements.
On Their Backs
Back pain hits nearly everyone. Consider these statistics: 80 percent of Americans suffers from back pain some time in their lives. Back pain is the Number 2 reason for doctor visits in the United States (Number 1: upper-respiratory ailments). Back pain is the Number 1 cause of permanent disability for Americans under 45.
Back pain even hurts the economy: Americans spend nearly $50 billion per?year in expenses associated with medical treatment and lost time from work.
That puts back pain in a league with cancer and heart disease in terms of its?cost and disabling effects. Still it doesn’t get the attention it deserves because back pain can be so mysterious and has such a low mortality rate; people tend not to view it as seriously as they should.
Types of Backaches
Even minor damage to any one component of your back’s structure can upset the?delicate balance and make movement painful. Back pain can occur for no apparent reason and at any point on the spine. The most common site for pain, however, is the lower back because it bears the?majority of one’s weight.
Lack of muscle strength and excess weight, especially around the stomach, commonly cause and aggravate back pain. Poor posture adds stress, too. When one slouches or stands with a swayback, one exaggerates the back’s natural curves. Any imbalance can stress muscles and joints, causing fatigue and injury from overuse.
Add the daily stresses and strains you put on your back, such as carrying the?groceries, mowing the lawn, leaning over a keypad for long periods, or even reaching high for something in a kitchen cabinet. All too often the result is the familiar complaint, “Oh, my aching back.”
From the simple backache to more serious back problems, here are common sources of back pain:
• Muscle strains and spasms—Aches and pains usually signal strained muscles, tendons or ligaments, or inflamed joints along the backbone.
If you strain your back, you may feel the pain immediately or develop soreness or stiffness later. Muscle spasm may occur after an injury. Spasm is your back’s response to injury, designed to immobilize you and prevent further damage.
• Wear and tear arthritis—Commonly referred to as osteoarthritis, this disorder affects nearly everyone past age 60. Excessive use, injury or aging slowly deteriorates cartilage, the protective tissue that covers the surface of vertebral joints. Discs between vertebrae become worn and the spaces between the bones narrow. Bony outgrowths, called spurs, also develop. Gradually your spine stiffens and loses flexibility.
As vertebral joints rub together with greater force than normal, the surfaces where they meet, called facets, compress and become irregular. Cartilage becomes inflamed and the result is pain.
• Injuries and accidents—A decrease in muscle tone as you age makes you prone to back pain, especially that caused by muscle injuries. A shifting in your center of gravity due to increased fat around your abdomen also may offset your balance and increase your risk of an injury or accident.
Natural Pain Relief for the Aspirin Sensitive
In 1998 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called Celebrex for the treatment of both osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and pain relief. The popular press welcomed it as the long-awaited invention of “safe aspirin.” The medical community was very optimistic about Celebrex, a COX-2 enzyme inhibitor, being a revolutionary advance in pain relief. The Wall Street Journal has hailed the drug as the next Viagra-like success with potential annual sales in the?$5 billion range.
Also, during a six-month period in 1999, over two million prescriptions were written for Vioxx, Merck’s new COX-2 inhibitor, which was approved by the FDA for arthritis and menstrual pain. It is also being used for those with acute pain, low back pain, post-surgery pain and even for post-operative dental pain.
It is estimated that literally tens of millions of people will take Celebrex, Vioxx or similar compounds for pain relief, including back pain instead of taking?traditional NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like aspirin and ibuprofen. The use of these drugs by the medical community is staggering, with more than 35 million prescriptions written for NSAIDS in 1995 alone and billions of dollars more spent on non-prescription over-the-counter NSAIDS such as Motrin and Advil. From the introduction of aspirin nearly 100 years ago, it is estimated that over one trillion aspirin doses have been taken.
The significance of finding an alternative to NSAIDS for dealing with arthritis pain is underscored by the fact that an estimated 107,000 people are admitted to hospitals each year due to complications from the use of NSAIDS and more than 16,500 die. Because of serious side effects including kidney damage, peptic ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, many in the medical community think that anyone who has ever taken traditional pain relievers is a candidate for the use of this new class of COX-2 inhibitor drugs. Celebrex and Vioxx do appear to offer relief from pain and inflammation that is similar to traditional NSAIDS, with a decreased incidence of the side effects associated with them.
Celebrex and Vioxx also come with their drawbacks. They are relatively expensive, costing close to $2.50 per day to help reduce pain and inflammation. In addition, many HMOs won’t pay for these drugs because they say the costs are too high and individuals can still use the traditional NSAIDS for pain relief at a much lower cost. But there are effective, natural and less expensive natural alternatives to the prescription medications.
The Importance of COX-2 Inhibitors
Why is it important to block the COX-2 enzyme? The COX-2 enzyme controls the production of hormone-like substances called prostaglandins that cause inflammation. The COX-2 enzyme jump starts the production of these inflammatory substances that lead to inflammation in the joints, a major symptom of arthritis and joint pain. Blocking its production is the key to reducing the pain, soreness and stiffness associate with arthritis and low back and muscle pain. In addition, excessive COX-2 production has also been linked to many forms of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
The Natural Alternatives
Millions of people are in search of an “aspirin-free” alternative for dealing with pain and many are uncertain about the side effects of these new COX-2 drugs. That’s why nutritional supplement manufacturers are looking at natural COX-2 inhibitors, anti-inflammatory herbs and nutrients to prevent and relieve back pain and support joint health. These unique blends rely on the wisdom of traditional healing and the time-tested effectiveness of nutraceutical ingredients instead of single-ingredient drugs.
COX-2 Inhibition and Natural Anti-inflammatories
Many natural herbs have been found to inhibit COX-2 production safely and may offer an alternative to prescription medications. Those herbs include green tea, turmeric, Polygonum cuspidaturn and ginger, to name a few.
Turmeric contains curcumin, a unique phytonutrient complex that naturally inhibits inflammatory COX-2. Ginger extract has multiple compounds that inhibit inflammatory COX-2 enzymes. Another Chinese herb hu zhang (Polygonum cuspidaturn) contains the powerful phytonutrient trans-resveratrol that helps reverse free radical damage to joint and muscle tissue and helps inhibit COX-2 enzymes.
In addition boswellin, while not a COX-2 inhibitor, is a proven anti-inflammatory compound that produces no untoward side affects common to most anti-inflammatory drugs.
Muscle Relaxation
Special ingredients help break the cycle of pain. Sore back muscles respond to pain by contracting, causing even more pain. Herbs such as kava kava can actually help break this vicious cycle. Kava kava is known to relax muscles and help break the pain cycle. When blended with the mineral magnesium, the effect proves even more beneficial because magnesium is required by the body to counteract muscle contraction so that muscles can relax.
Nutritional Support for Aching Backs
While it is important to inhibit inflammation, the back needs nutritional support to help protect or repair damaged tissue from inflammation. Although drugs can reduce pain, they do nothing to repair vertebrae tissue or aching backs. Glucosamine, however, is one natural compound that actually repairs and restores connective tissue, including cartilage, tendons and ligaments. Studies show that glucosamine assists the body’s own repair mechanism by promoting the?production of collagen, a protein that holds connective tissue together.
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), a sulfur-based nutrient, helps bind water in the?cartilage matrix, keeping the cartilage between the joints soft and spongy.
No More Aching Back
There are many natural substances available that will interrupt pain and inflammation from prostaglandins, help support healthy joints and cartilage and reduce muscle tension. These supplements are safe, offer long-term effectiveness and deliver potent natural ingredients known to reduce back and joint pain, so that users can enjoy life to the fullest with more range of movement and flexibility. Natural pain relief for the aspirin-sensitive individual is now available in specialized formulas that utilize proven mechanisms for knocking out pain and also help restore and repair damaged tissues.
These groundbreaking products contain key COX-2 inhibiting herbs and natural muscle relaxants, plus glucosamine, MSM and other key nutrients that help support inflamed and arthritic joints and painful backs.
Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D., is professor and director of the Exercise Science Program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He has written 15 books, including Optimal Sports Recovery, and many articles on sports physiology, training, nutrition and health.
|
