Herbs Help Low Back Pain
Wed, April 26, 2006 at 04:59AM It’s not often that we read news of systematic reviews of studies of so-called ‘alternative medicine’ that are positive. Too frequently the results are ‘inconclusive’, or ‘more/better studies are needed’. So it’s refreshing to hear about a review in the Cochrane Library that evaluates the use of 3 herbs in treating low back pain.
Devil’s claw, white willow bark, and cayenne plasters were assessed, based on published randomized controlled studies that involved nearly 1600 adults with acute, sub-acute, or chronic low back pain. The controls used were placebo (dummy pills) or Vioxx (the Cox-2 inhibitor pain killer that’s been withdrawn from the market).
There was good evidence that devil’s claw (50 mg) was better than placebo; the results were similar to those for Vioxx. White willow bark showed a dose-dependent effect; at the highest dose it was better than placebo, and equaled Vioxx. And cayenne plasters were better than placebo, but no better than a homeopathic remedy – which casts a little doubt on their real value.
An independent expert agreed that herbal treatment could be tried in low back pain, but shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for conventional pain killers. He warns that too little is known about the potential side effects of herbal remedies, which may sometimes equal those of ‘real’ medications. And the head of the review team cautions ”These herbal medicines could be considered as treatment options . . . [but they] should not be tried without the supervision of a qualified medical professional”.
Reader Comments (3)
Substantially increase your consumption of complex carbohydrates, these include foods such as wholegrains, ( with the exclusion of corn), beans vegetables and fruits, so these make up 70-80% of your food intake.
Avoid refined carbohydrates, such as sugar, honey, and syrups, and cut your total sugar intake by at least 40%.
Avoid all fats and oils including butter, margarine, meat fats and lard, as much as possible. Also avoid fatty meats, whole milk, cheese with more than 1% fat content, and egg yolks.
Give both caffeine and alcohol a miss.
Take an amino acid supplement called tryptophan, this is converted by the body into serotonin, a pain relieving chemical.
The combination of the special diet and the tryptophan should dramatically elevates your pain tolerance.