Over The Counter Pain Relievers
Are They Effective? Are They Safe?
In a recent article on the effectiveness of common over-the-counter pain killers, pain researchers revealing some surprising and disturbing insights.
- A pain researcher at Oxford University,stated: Tylenol doesn't actually work that well for pain. To be more exact, "I can't imagine why anybody would take acetaminophen," he said. Every researcher contacted agreed with this statement.
- A 2015 study published on BMJ.com (link below) found that acetaminophen didn't seem to help most sufferers of chronic low back pain, and that it barely alleviates pain in people with osteoarthritis. As the researchers wrote, "We found that [acetaminophen] is ineffective on both pain and disability outcomes for low back pain in the immediate and short term and is not clinically superior to placebo on both pain and disability outcomes for osteoarthritis."
Most disturbing was the data provided that links Acetaminophen usage with liver toxicity and failure. Between 1998 and 2003, acetaminophen was the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US. "We always thought [acetaminophen] was safe, but there are increasing signals of accidental overdose in people who are regularly using it for chronic pain, and some liver toxicity," explained a Professor of Musculoskeletal Medicine.
Unfortunately, there are risks associated with Aspirin and Ibuprofen usage as well. Aspirin interferes with blood coagulation. Just 1 gram of Aspirin leaves you at rick for bleeding up to 4 days after using it. And Ibuprofen puts users at risk for gastrointestinal bleeds and kidney damage. Using it in high doses also seems to raise blood pressure, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
So what's the solution? Drug-Free pain relief solutions that work to restore balance to the body such as Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Massage.
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