Well, maybe not all drugs. But a recent study showed having your back adjusted resulted in greater pain relief than anti-inflammatory drugs (dicolfenac).
In the study, people with acute lower back pain either had their back adjusted or were given diclofenac. The drug is sold under the name Voltaren in Australia.
The authors concluded that ” spinal manipulation was significantly better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac and clinically superior to placebo”.
Oh, I forgot to mention that. Our treatment is also better than doing nothing.
To read the abstract of the study, click here…

New research is suggesting that bacterial infections might be the source of disc related pain. It’s an interesting mechanism – the bacteria, which exist in the mouth and hair, can be moved into the bloodstream by brushing of the teeth. They can be deposited into the disc as part of the body’s response to injury and once there can proliferate and be a source of pain. According to researchers, this could potentially be involved in up to 80% of back pain cases. The full article can be found here . I know …

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.

Is your child laying awake at night coughing and you’re not sure what to do? A new study has found that honey can be used as an alternative to cough syrups etc for young children suffering from Upper Respiratory Infections (URI).
The study involved 300 children aged 1-5 over the period of a year. The children were given a single dose of 10 g of eucalyptus honey, citrus honey, labiatae honey. I personally have had great results with Manuka honey so would have loved to have seen how effective that was, knowing …

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 …

Following on from my last article on the risks associated with the use of common over the counter anti-inflammatory medications, I wanted to see what the other options were and more importantly, how effective they are. I found an article which compared the results of 47 different studies on the effectiveness of different forms of ‘non tablet’ anti-inflammatories, ie gels, sprays, and creams. The attraction of these options is that there are none of the associated systemic adverse events.
The results of 47 studies were included. In these studies, the gels/creams/sprays …

Hi,
I eat more chocolate ice-cream than just about anyone I know. Recently I discovered two new varieties:
Maggie Beer Dark Chocolate & Orange Ice Cream
Sara Lee Rocky Road Overload (luscious chocolate ice cream overloaded with marshmallows, chocolate coated peanuts and delicious raspberry swirls)
I wholeheartedly recommend both.

I wanted to do a short article on the recent findings with respect to common anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). You may or may not have heard that a number of these drugs have had warnings issued regarding their use after research discovered they had the potential to have serious side effects.
Talking to patients, I felt that not enough people were aware of the current state of affairs.
These are medications you may have had prescribed or bought over the counter for arthritis, back pain, headaches, sports injuries and many other everyday complaints.
Voltaren …

I asked my colleague, the legendary Deb Cooper, Naturopath at Health & Fertility Matters, Maroubra Junction and my old stomping ground The Wholistic Medical Centre, Surry Hills, to give us all some advice leading into the dreaded cold and flu season. God love her, here’s what she’s come up with.
Simple Measures for Common Colds
Generally a cold takes 3 days to come on, 3 days with you and 3 days to go. You may not prevent it but you can ease the symptoms and prevent it worsening. The best treatment is echinacea …

What I wanted to do in this blog was summarise an article I read in a journal recently. It’s the sort of journal the general public don’t get access to and so most people don’t get the information. The study tried to compare the “scope, completeness, and accuracy of drug information in Wikipedia” with the information on a well established, reputable, edited, objective website (The Medscape Drug Reference Database).
It’s good to see someone doing this study. These days it’s extremely common for people to research their condition on the internet. …