At Proactive Spine Care, we are all about pain relief for our patients. Seriously. But we are also about reasonable care.
The October 20, 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study taking a look at low back pain. Specifically, they looked at one of the most common and longstanding knee-jerk approaches – writing combined prescriptions for the BIG THREE for common low back pain: anti-inflammatory medications + muscle relaxants + pain medication (opioids).
Guess what? Its overkill. Taking all three medications was found to be no different than taking common NSAIDs alone. It would appear that the approach of using all three of these medications for common low back pain has been doing nothing more than increasing health care costs, increasing the risks associated with consuming these combined medications, and padding the bottom line of the drug companies. More significantly , one of the medications investigated was opioid with signifncant risks of addition and death. The CDC has issued warnings about the overuse of opioid medications, and cited increased rated of additional, overdoses, and death. Opioids are also well know street drugs, increasing exposure risks for children and young adults. We just don't need any more of these out there than is necessary.
Think dialing back to NSAIDS is OK? Well, you might want to be plenty critical of that, too, especially over the long term. NSAIDs generally have bee establish to have cardiovascular risks, as well as significant risks for stomach and intestinal damage including occult (hidden) bleeding. Tylenol has also been shown to have generally no effect on musculoskeletal pain (back pain), while increasing risks of liver damage.
We are certainly all about pain relief. But at ProActive Spine Care, we focus on opening naturally effective directions for relief, and work to help reduce the reliance on medications for these problems. We have been helping our friends and neighbors in the Tacoma, Fircrest, and University Place area for over 25 years.
Give us a call today and let us help you, too.
