This article came out late last year but I’m a little slow I guess. A study which followed nearly 10,000 adults found that those who regularly used natural supplements to reduce inflammation had the following results:

intake of glucosamine decreased inflammation by 17%,
chondroitin led to a 22% decrease in inflammatory markersand
fish oil lowered levels of inflammatory markers by 16%

It;s good news for anyone looking to limit or reduce the use of pharmaceuticals, as some medications have been linked to an increased risk of cardiac events.

In a recent article I read on theconversation.edu.au, it was reported that “In 2010, the promotion of the Nurofen range of products “targeting” migraine, back pain, tension headache and period pain was awarded a CHOICE shonky award.”
The take home message of their review was that the different flavours of Nurofen claim to ‘target’ specific sites all contain the exact same active ingredient (Ibuprofen) in the exact same dosage. And there has been no research to prove that Ibuprofen specifically acts at one point rather than another.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in …

Breaking News – Meditation is good for you. Well, that statement is not that revolutionary really, there’s been plenty on this before, but this latest research helps us understand HOW it works.
The Australian of a new study which found that “Zen meditation helps lower sensitivity to pain by thickening a part of the brain that regulates emotion and painful sensations“. The researchers measured the thickness of grey matter of meditators compared to people who don’t meditate and found the meditators had increased thickness in areas related to pain sensitivity. The …

Following on from previous articles where we looked at ability to perform normal everyday functions as being an important predictor of having a fall for older people, new research has shown the amount of pain someone is in will also be a key predictor. Which makes sense when you think about it – if you’re in pain, you’re probably not going to be walking properly, you might have a limp, favour one side, and thus be a bit off balance.
Basically what they found was that the more sites of pain …

“Red Flags” are signs or symptoms you may be suffering from that can be indicators of serious conditions. If you or anyone you know experiences any of these you should consult a health care practitioner. The list includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Shortness of Breath
Loss of Consciousness
A Change in Bowel or Bladder Habits
A Persistent Cough
Pain on Breathing
Chest Pain
Pain or Difficulty on Urination
Tremors
Unexplained Weight Gain or Loss
Excessive Thirst
Swelling in your Throat
Altered Vision or Hearing
Balance Problems
Dizziness
Night Sweats
Fever
Continued numbness in any part of your body
Continued Tingling in any part of your …

A lot of times when people develop a new pain they are unsure about what to do and are worried they might make it worse. It’s common for people to either use ice or heat on an injury to try to obtain some pain relief, but aren’t necessarily sure which one suits their condition best. Here are the guidelines I usually follow:
If it’s a new (acute) injury (first 48-72 hours), you would be more likely to use ice. Ice will help decrease pain and inflammation whereas heat can increase it. …

What I’m going to look at in this posting relates to how quickly one should start addressing a complaint of low back pain. Historically, people suffering from low back pain have been told to rest, sometimes for very long periods. It’s time to right this wrong.
I have treated plenty of people who 20 years ago were given a neck collar for a minor car crash and wore it for 3 months despite no evidence of any tissue damage, “just because that was what they did back then”. And plenty of …

In this study the authors measured the Vitamin D levels in people suffering chronic pain to see if it may be a contributing factor. Vitamin D does play a role in pain perception and neuromuscular functioning, and so dysfunctions related to Vitamin D levels may present as abnormal (in this case elevated) pain states.
The researchers measured the Vitamin D levels in 267 people and compared it with other parameters “such as the amount and duration of narcotic pain medication used, self-reported levels of pain, emotional distress, physical functioning, health perception”.
…

In my last post I wrote about how much better off you are getting treatment for low back pain rather than just waiting for it to get better, and in this post I’m going to follow on from that by discussing the results of a study which has found that you are better off staying active than resting.
Now, it may not seem terribly important, I mean, how bad could a couple of days on the couch be? Well, here are the stats: “more than three quarters of individuals will have …