 Tylenol no help for back pain recovery NSAIDs like Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and opioid medications have commonly been used to relieve back pain for years, but recent studies on effectiveness have surprised doctors by finding little benefit to these medications.
You know what they say about assuming... Ibuprofen and Tylenol have been assumed to be first-line treatments for back pain, but few doctors or patients knew there has been little research to support their effectiveness. Opioids have similarly been assumed and promoted as a good option for severe back pain, but had not been well researched. Now the studies are out on all three forms of medication, and the results are not good. Tylenol no help for back pain recovery Researchers performed a controlled trial for Tylenol and back pain with over 1500 patients across 235 primary care centers from 2009 to 2013. The use of Tylenol daily and as needed for back pain was compared to placebo pill. The placebo group on average actually recovered slightly quicker than the Tylenol groups. The researchers concluded: "Our findings suggest that regular or as-needed dosing with [Tylenol] does not affect recovery time compared with placebo in low-back pain, and question the universal endorsement of [Tylenol] in this patient group." Ibuprofen no better than sugar pill After Tylenol failed to show effectiveness for back pain, researchers reviewed 35 randomised placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) looking for evidence of NSAID (Ibuprofen and others) effectiveness for back pain. They struck out again. NSAIDs only reduced pain and disability as much as placebo, but provided clinically unimportant effects over placebo. Researchers concluded: "The magnitude of the difference in outcomes between the [NSAIDs] and placebo groups is not clinically important. At present, there are no simple analgesics that provide clinically important effects for spinal pain over placebo." Opioids = strike three. Little benefit. High Risk. It's hard to believe the death toll opioids have caused when there hasn't been thorough study of their effectiveness for back pain, but that is the case. Once again, researchers reviewed 20 RCTs of opioid analgesics (with a total of 7925 participants) and 13 trials (3419 participants) evaluating short-term effects on chronic low back pain. There were no RCTs for acute back pain. In half of the 13 trials, at least 50% of participants left the study due to side effects or lack of efficacy, and relief was so little it was "not clinically important." The researchers concluded that those who can tolerate opioids may see a little short-term pain relief, but it is not significant. "Evidence on long-term efficacy is lacking. The efficacy of opioid analgesics in acute low back pain is unknown." What treatment is best for back pain? The American College of Physicians (ACP) back pain guidelines recommend first using non-invasive, non-drug treatment like chiropractic spinal manipulation before resorting to drug therapies for pain. Other non-drug treatments like acupuncture, exercise therapy, heat, and massage can also be helpful. These non-drug treatments can be just as effective, and in some cases more effective than medications like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and opioids without the risks and dependency. Never start with opioids, and think twice before reaching for Tylenol or Ibuprofen first for pain.
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4/19/2017 American College of Physicians Recommends Chiropractic For Back Pain, Not OpioidsRead Now Avoid opioid addiction with chiropractic The American College of Physicians (ACP) released the latest guidelines recommending non-drug treatment like chiropractic over opioids and other medications. These guidelines emphasized non-drug treatments to be used first for back pain or injury rather than more commonly used medications, and especially before opioids.
One Ohio Injured Worker dies each week from drugs With the opioid epidemic raging in Ohio and around the country, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and Center for Disease Control (CDC) have all recommended non-drug treatments to be used to treat pain instead of opioids to end the drug abuse and addiction. More recent studies have even found opioids to be less effective for pain that once believed. This combination of limited benefit and high risk of addiction has lead to an epidemic of overdose deaths around the country, with Ohio as "ground zero." Try non-drug treatment like chiropractic first for pain Based on current research, ACP Guidelines note that chiropractic manipulation, exercise therapy, acupuncture, massage, and heat therapy are all preferred treatments that should be tried first before medications. Most back pain will improve well with these measures. The few cases that don't respond may try medications, but injections and surgery is not recommended by the guidelines due to limited benefit for most patients and high risks. Opioids are noted as a last resort that should only be used in addition to non-drug treatment; never used alone. It won't be easy to change decades of physician and patient habits, reaching for medication first for pain, but this is a step in the right direction. More and more medical guidelines recommend a trial of conservative non-drug treatment like chiropractic first for back pain. This trial should last at least 6 weeks and only emergency cases (severe pain is not an emergency) should consider more invasive treatment or advanced imaging. Next time you're hurting, start with chiropractic or other non-drug treatment first.  Believe it! Trans fats increase heart disease. An analysis of New York Counties that restricted trans fats in foods (2007-2011) before national restrictions start (in 2018) found a significant reduction in heart problems with less trans fat use.
What are trans fats? Trans fats largely result from processing that makes liquid oils more solid or shelf stable to keep them from going rancid. Think of margarine, which is manufactured from liquid oils (soy, corn, canola), but made to be solid like butter. The trend away from natural animal fats decades ago resulted in a trend toward highly processed plant oils and increased trans fat consumption. And heart problems have skyrocketed. Unlike naturally saturated fats, years of evidence has clearly shown increased risk of heart disease and other health problems with consumption of trans fats. No level of trans fats have been found to be safe. Lobbyists have long delayed restrictions on trans fats, but finally the evidence is too great to ignore and national restrictions will start in 2018 (unless there is an effort to delay). This study now shows confirms that restrictions should lower the rate of stroke and heart attacks. Eat the real stuff: butter, olive oil, coconut oil Food manufacturers don't give up cheap ingredients easily. They have found other ways to artificially solidify oils through a process called interesterification. Sound yummy? We would recommend you play it safe and eat real fats that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years: butter, olive oil, coconut oil...  If corn, peas, and green beans are your favorite vegetables, you're in trouble. Those are grains and legumes, not vegetables; and they are carbohydrate heavy. It's time to learn to love veggies. In our experience, most patients are not consuming nearly enough vegetables and fruits. While a vegetarian diet isn't necessary to be healthy, we should all try to increase our fruit and veggie intake. Here are 5 tips to pump up the produce in your meals:
Stop blaming mom and dad for passing along bad genes and start looking at your own health habits, because you control your health more than your genes do. It's the start of a new year and a fresh start to improve your health. You can choose to believe that you can't control you health and continue down the road of declining health and more medication every year...or you can empower yourself with the latest science. Human genetics have barely changed in thousands of years, yet our health problems have skyrocketed in only decades. What's really going on? If genes haven't changed, what has?
As scientists gain a better understanding of genetics, they are learning more about how our habits actually control the function of our genetics. They have discovered that most health conditions are not the result of bad family genes. They come from bad habits. Our habits actually switch genes on and off, leading to increased risk of health problems or health improvement. This area of research is called epigentics; studying factors that control DNA. The infographic below helps simply explain how this occurs. Researchers studying epigentics have seen how smoking, diet, and exercise switch genes on and off. A stressful lifestyle or other environmental factors can also switch genes on and off. Are you switching on good genes or bad genes? Think about this: A young man with bad habits switches his genes to "unhealthy" mode and then passes them on to his first son. Then the father wises up with age, improves his health habits, and switches his genes back to "healthy" mode. He has a second son and passes these "healthy" genes on to him. The genes could theoretically be the exact same in both children, but the genes in the first son are switched to cause more health problems than the genes in the second son. Now consider: The first son could potentially take up good health habits to switch his genes back to "healthy" mode, while the second child takes up bad habits and makes his genes worse. Take control of your health for you and your children The bottom line is: You control your health. You also control the health of your children and grandchildren by switching on bad and good genes and passing them down. You are not an innocent bystander of your inherited genetics. Don't accept bad health and try to medicate your symptoms under control. Take control of your health with good habits. Watch for our helpful tips for these 5 major causes of health problems to control your genes: diet, exercise, posture, sleep, and stress.
 Past cautions about the use of cough medicine in children and antibacterial soap have recently turned into strong warnings to avoid these products due to harm and lack of benefit.
FDA: No Antibacterial Soap At the beginning of the month, the FDA came out with a ban on marketing antibacterial soaps for consumer use. The popularity of these soaps has grown over the years with consumers thinking they are protecting themselves from dangerous germs. The FDA's report found no evidence of benefit from these antibacterial products over regular soap. Over time, there could be harm from using these products on a regular basis. Common antibacterial chemical triclosan has been found to accumulate in the body and has been linked to various health issues due to its interference with hormones. AAP: No Codeine (Cough Medicine) for Children Not much later, the American Academy of Pediatric released a report warning against the use of codeine in children (commonly found in cough syrup). The report confirmed prior studies that found an increased risk of harm to children under 18 when taking codeine products. Some children's bodies convert codeine into morphine so quickly that they effectively overdose, experiencing life-threatening breathing problems. The risk was especially high with those children who already have difficulty breathing before taking the medicine. Furthermore, research has found mixed pain-relieving benefit and no evidence of cough-relieving benefit to the medication - the main two reasons it's used. With cold and flu season approaching, it's important to follow healthy habits to keep your family healthy. Regular hand washing with regular soap is a good idea, along with a healthy diet and activity levels. Supplements or herbs can also help minimize issues and support a healthy immune response, without the side effects and risks. And while a clean environment is good, an antiseptic/sterilized environment is not, so let the kids get dirty once and awhile. What's really going on at the local farm you drive by at 55 mph? Or that farm thousands of miles away that produced the meat you're eating for dinner? The difference can be astounding, as explained in two books: The Meat Racket and Gaining Ground. As doctors, we often discuss the negative health impacts of poor farming choices such as feeding cattle grain and antibiotics in confined feedlots, injecting them with hormones, and using muscle growing medications like Zilmax; using any means to produce more meat faster. These practices don't only occur at the expense of the animal and our health from eating it; there's an increasingly negative impact on the family farm. America's industrial farming system has caused a steady economic decline in rural America that will only be reversed when we consume more local, quality meat and produce.
Gaining Ground tells the story of a young farmer in the mid 1990s trying to find his way naturally raising livestock outside of the industrial farm system, while attempting to save the family farm. He blazes a trail for a new (but really old, traditional) way of farming in a world that has forgotten cattle are made to eat grass, not corn. Forrest discovers that pigs aren't animals that like to live in filth. They are amazing soil tillers in search of bugs, roots, and anything edible, leaving behind the ingredients for a lush restored pasture once allowed to move on to a new patch of land.
Forrest's farming adventure is both funny and insightful. Mistakes are made and lessons are learned. His story allows us to appreciate our local farmers' endless (not always profitable) work to provide us with high quality, healthy food for our families. The increase in farmers' markets and local farms selling directly to customers is evidence of consumers demanding better and farmers answering the call. More farmers out there are trying to provide our families with food that contributes to our health rather than wreaking havoc on it. All we have to do is buy it.  Test your knowledge. Name this common grocery store item based on its ingredients...
water corn syrup high fructose corn syrup hydrogenated vegetable oil less than 2% sodium caseinate natural and artificial flavor modified food starch xanthan and guar gums polysorbate 60 sorbitan monostearate sodium polyphosphates beta carotens hint: contains milk (you saw that in the ingredient list right?)... hint: most people probably think the first ingredient is milk... Have you figured it out? It's Cool Whip! Yuck. Wouldn't you rather just whip up heavy whipping cream?  I can taste the whale blubber now Eskimo populations filling up on fatty fish and whale blubber have historically been know for low rates of heart disease. It caused confusion for proponents of a low fat diet, but recent research has further confirmed the health benefits of fat consumption over carbs.
Why did Eskimo heart disease rates skyrocket? While historic data documented low heart disease in Eskimos, later 1970s research on Eskimos actually found higher rates of heart disease, comparable to modern populations. What happened? Carbs. A recent review of Eskimo diet and health trends found a clear link between increased sugar and carbohydrate consumption during the 1900s and increased heart disease in Eskimos. Between 1855 and 1970, Greenland Eskimos increased their carb consumption from 2-8% of their diet to 40% of their diet and heart disease rates rose. The Eskimos ate less of their traditional whale blubber and more bread, biscuits, potatoes, rice, flour, beer, and sugar cubes. Don't pass the potatoes. Pass the whale blubber.
Scientists suspect the fetus is most susceptible to acetaminophen during periods of brain development during the second and third trimester. With around half of the women in this study taking acetaminophen during this development period, this has the potential to be a major public health problem that has been overlooked by doctors and mothers.
While some medications are clearly linked to birth defects or other development problems, it is difficult to determine if other meds thought to be safe really cause no harm to the developing fetus. The best guarantee is avoiding medication whenever possible. Aches and pains during pregnancy should first be relieved with safe and effective chiropractic treatment or other non-drug conservative care options. Not only has chiropractic treatment been found to safely relieve pain during pregnancy; it's also been linked to an easier shorter labor. That's good news for mom and baby.  The National Obesity Forum and Public Health Collaboration recently released diet recommendations contrary to long-standing government recommendations -- Eat Fat & Cut Carbs. These non-profit groups recommend governments cut ties with the food industry to make better dietary recommendations to help address the epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes around the world.
"The roots of obesity and type 2 diabetes are firmly embedded in the food environment. Legislative efforts to encourage less consumption of processed foods and sugary drinks will help significantly reduce the burden of diet related disease which now contributes to more disease and death globally than physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol combined." "The role of poor dietary advice has been ignored for too long. Specifically, the 'low fat' and 'lower cholesterol' message have had unintended disastrous health consequences....[resulting] in increased consumption of low fat junk food, refined carbohydrates and polyunsaturated vegetable oils." NOF & PHC recommend the following 10 messages be used to help educate the public: 1. Eating fat does not make you fat 2. Saturated fat does not cause heart disease 3. Processed foods labelled "low fat", "lite", "low cholesterol" or “proven to lower cholesterol” should be avoided 4. Limit starchy and refined carbohydrates to prevent and reverse Type 2 diabetes 5. Optimum [added] sugar consumption for health is ZERO 6. Industrial vegetable oils should be avoided 7. Stop counting calories (calorie focused thinking has damaged public health) 8. You cannot outrun a bad diet 9. Snacking will make you fat (Grandma was right!) 10. Evidence based nutrition should be incorporated into education curricula for all healthcare professionals These are great messages to consider when feeding your family. If any don't make sense to you, schedule a consult with our doctors or attend our next class on nutrition.
Fruits and vegetables contain a variety of nutrients in addition to fiber that benefit the whole body. Try to include at least a serving of a whole fruit or vegetable in each meal and snack you eat. Let fruits and vegetables give your lungs (and whole body) a boost.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life whenever possible. Any mothers struggling with breastfeeding are encouraged to use resources that will help them. Breastfeeding is the best way to start a child on a healthy path.
 Snow shoveling doesn't have to cause back pain We've been lucky so far...but it's just a matter of time before the snow blows in and these snow shoveling tips can help you avoid injury. We frequently see snow shoveling injuries this time of year, but most can be avoided by keeping in mind a few simple tips:
Warm up first - shoveling can be a major workout so prepare for it like one. Start with gentle movements and stretching to warm up your muscles for a few minutes. Minimize lifting & throwing - heavy lifting and twisting the body is the perfect recipe for injury. Push the snow out of the way as much as possible. If lifting is needed, keep if light and use those knees. Often & easy wins - try to make frequent lighter cleaning passes rather than waiting for the snow to stack a foot deep. Take a break when it's too much - there's no medal for finishing this marathon without stopping. Do some now, rest, and come back later. Avoid ice skating - wear boots or shoes with a good grip. Frozen ground or ice does not cushion a fall very well, and you need stable footing to shovel snow. Consider your equipment - maybe it's time for a snow blower, or maybe you just want a more ergonomic shovel. Now you can make the winter season a healthy one. Try these tips next time you're shoveling snow, or give us a call when you didn't: (330) 492-1010. 11/17/2015 Research Roundup: Animal Antibiotics Hurt Kids, Bad Medicine, and Healthy Eating Improves Health!Read Now Enjoy the latest research on health care and healthy living:
American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) Says No to Antibiotics in Animal Feed Feeding livestock antibiotics to artificially boost growth is big business and America's Pediatricians are finally saying that's enough. MedPage reported on the AAP's announcement discouraging use of antibiotics in animal fed due to the potential harm for children. While 7.25 million pounds of these drugs are sold for use in humans, more than 32.2 million pounds are sold for use in animals -- animals that often have no active infection. The overuse of antibiotic medication in children was also briefly addressed: "Clinicians bear some responsibility for this problem because we ourselves are not always prudent in our use of antibiotics...Unfortunately, too many people still prescribe antibiotics for colds or sore throats without having an appropriate bacterial diagnosis. So, since clinicians are part of the problem, they can be part of the solution." For your family's safety, choose meat that has been raised without antibiotics or other chemicals. And avoid antibiotic use for common colds, runny noses, and sore throats that are caused by viruses that cannot be killed with antibiotics. Medical Errors Still Alarmingly High Forbes recently reported: "A disturbing new study, published in the October 2015 issue of Anesthesiology, found that medication errors occurred in nearly half of all surgical procedures. Additionally, the study found that one-third of all errors resulted in adverse drug events or harm to patients." The study reviewed surgeries performed at a Harvard-affiliated hospital "considered a leader in patient safety." Clinicians weighing in on the study felt this actually underestimates the number of medical errors. This follows research estimating deaths due to preventable medical errors at 400,000 per year in the United States. Furthermore, these estimates seem to only consider hospitalized medical care, not accounting for other medical treatment. It's always important to recognize the significant risks associated with even "non-invasive" or "minor" medical care, utilizing safer conservative care first whenever possible. Now Some Good News: Americans Are Eating Better And Reducing Disease Don't let us mislead you, researchers still conclude the diet of Americans is "poor". However, an analysis of diet trends (from 1999-2012) found small signs of improvement with a big payoff: 1.1 million fewer premature deaths, 8.6% fewer cardiovascular disease cases, 1.3% fewer cancer cases, and 12.6% fewer type 2 diabetes cases. Good job Americans - now keep going! You're apparently drinking fewer sugary beverages and eating more fruit, but you haven't increased your veggies. Get those veggies in and keep cutting the sweets and carbs. Eat real unprocessed food and get moving! |
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Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your treating doctor. This blog is not a doctor and will not diagnose or treat your problems.
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