Homeopathy & Back Pain

Back pain ranks second only to headaches as the most frequent pain location.
Four out of five adults will experience at least one bout of back pain at some time in their life.
Back pain can occur for no apparent reason and at any point on your spine.

The most common site for pain is your lower back because it bears the most weight and stress.

Although back pain is common, it's also quite possible for you to prevent most back problems with simple steps such as exercise and adopting new ways to sit and stand.

Even if you've injured your back before, you can learn techniques to help avoid recurrent injuries.

Limited rest combined with appropriate exercise and education is often the best course.
Acute back pain often goes away by itself in a few days or weeks.
An ice bag or hot water bottle applied to the back may also help to alleviate pain. Prolonged bed rest is not beneficial because it weakens muscles.

Exercising with Back Pain
Recommendations for preventing initial and recurring episodes of back pain include:
regular exercise stretching before participation in sporting activities
losing weight maintaining correct posture
using comfortable, supportive seats while driving
sleeping on the side with knees drawn up or on the back with a pillow under bent knees

Homeopathy

Many of the herbs used for pain relief use the same biochemical pathways as the non-opiate pain-relieving drugs, but they are not as effective. However, on the positive side, many of these herbs have multiple effects. Their antispasmodic and circulation-promoting constituents may make up for what these plants lack in prostaglandin- suppressing strength. Herbal formulas that combine prostaglandin-suppressing, antispasmodic, sedative, and antidepressant plants are commonly prescribed by professional herbalists in North America, Great Britain, and Australia

Chronic pain often creates other problems besides the pain itself. These may include: tension, spasm, insomnia, and depression. And while conventional pain medications may remedy one or two of these side effects, some formulas of herbs can address them all. A pain-reliever, an antispasrnodic, a sedative, and an antidepressant may all be in included in a typical herbal formula created by a medical herbalist. For example, one herbal combination may include equal parts of willow bark (for pain), cramp bark (for spasm), valerian (a sedative), and St. Johns wort (an antidepressant).

For example, if related to drink. .

Hot, moist herbal packs help relieve the pain and increase blood circulation on painful areas, while herbal teas, juices and extracts soothe muscles and nerves.

Camomile has a calming effect on smooth muscle tissue. Take it as 1-3 cups of tea, 10-20 drops of extract in a cup of liquid or 1-3 capsules daily.

Bromelain (pineapple extract) is a powerful anti-inflammatory (take 2-3 g daily at first, then 1-2 g as the pain eases). Other anti-inflammatories, effective when drunk as teas, are valerian, St. John's wort, and Jamaican dogwood.

Horsetail not only heals and builds connective tissue, but also normalizes the bowels and alleviates lower-back pain, much of which can be traced to a dysfunctional intestinal tract. Take internally as per camomile.

Burdock soothes the pain and purifies the blood. Take 1-3 capsules or 10-25 drops of extract in 1 cup liquid daily.

If the muscle tension is due to emotional stress, take borage, St. John's wort, lemon balm or valerian teas.

Fresh yarrow juice is excellent for strengthening back muscles.

Use a white or black mustard seed pack for more intense heat. A mustard pack should not be left on for more than ten minutes because it can irritate the skin.

An infusion of meadowsweet three times a day combined with a rub on the area with lobelia and cramp bark is useful for physical strain or rheumatic problems.

Here are some herbs that are useful in pain relief.

Hot Peppers
Cayenne pepper (Capsicum spp.) is used in formulas for liniments and plasters in the folk medicine. Red pepper contains a pain-relieving chemical--capsaicin--that is so potent that a tiny amount provides the active ingredient in some powerful pharmaceutical topical analgesics. One product, Zostrix, contains only 0.025 percent capsaicin.

The exact mechanism in which red pepper works is not known. But it sure does work. Red pepper's effectiveness may be due to:

Capsaicin interferes with our pain perception
Capsaicin trigger release of the body's own pain-relieving endorphins
Salicylates present in red pepper.

How to Apply

1. You can buy a commercial cream containing capsaicin and use that.

2. Mash a red pepper and rub it directly on the painful area.

3. Take any white skin cream that you have on hand such as cold cream. Mix in enough red pepper to turn it pink.

4. Place 1 ounce of cayenne pepper in a quart of rubbing alcohol. Let the mixture stand for three weeks, shaking the bottle each day. Then, apply to the affected part during acute attacks.

5. Place 1 ounce of cayenne pepper in a pint of boiling water. Simmer for half an hour. Do not strain, but add a pint of rubbing alcohol. Let cool to room temperature. Apply as desired to the affected part.

Caution: Do not ingest any of these remedies. Wash your hands thoroughly after preparing or using red pepper. Don't get it in your eyes.

Some people are sensitive to this compound. Test it on a small area of skin to make sure that it's okay for you to use before using it on a larger area. If it seems to irritate your skin, discontinue use.

Cramp Bark and Black Haw
For the treatment of spasmodic pain, both cramp bark (Viburnum opulus) and black haw (Viburnum prunifolium) have been used in American Indian medicine. The Indians used cramp bark to treat both menstrual pain and muscle spasm. Cramp bark and black haw were also used hisatorically for arthritic or menstrual pain. The plants contain the antispasmodic and muscle-relaxing compounds esouletin and scopoletin. The antispasmodic constituents are best extracted with alcohol. So use tinctures rather than teas. Black haw also contains aspirin- like compounds.

Directions: Mix equal parts of cramp bark and black haw tinctures. Take between 1 and 4 droppers every two or three hours for up to three days.

Willow Bark
Willow bark (Salix alba) was used for treating pain by the ancient Greeks more than 2,400 years ago. American Indians throughout North America used it as a pain reliever even before the arrival of the European colonists. Investigation of salicin, a pain-relieving constituent in willow bark, led to the discovery of aspirin in 1899. The most important active constituent is salicin, but other anti-inflammatory constituents also appear in the willow bark.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita) and other mints.
The compounds menthol and camphor are found in many over-the-counter backache medications. They are chemicals that can help ease the muscle tightness that contributes to many bad backs. Menthol is a natural constituent of plants in the mint family, particularly peppermint and spearmint, although the aromatic oils of all the other mints contain it as well. Camphor occurs in spike lavender, hyssop and coriander.

Ginger
Ginger is used to treat various sorts of pain in the folk medicine of China and India. It is an important pain medication in contemporary Arabic medicine. Ginger contains 12 different aromatic anti-inflammatory compounds, including some with mild aspirin-like effects.

Directions: Cut a fresh ginger root (about the size of your thumb) into thin slices. Place the slices in a quart of water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer on the lowest possible heat for thirty minutes in a covered pot. Let cool for thirty more minutes. Strain and drink 1/2 to 1 cup, sweetened with honey, for taste if needed.

Rosemary
Drinking rosemary tea for pain is a remedy used in the contemporary Hispanic folk medicine of Mexico and the Southwest. Its leaf also contains four anti-inflammatory substances---camosol, oleanolic acid, rosmarinic acid, and ursolic acid. Carnosol acts on the same anti-inflammatory pathways as both steroids and aspirin; rosmarinic acid acts through at least two separate anti-inflammatory biochemical pathways; and ursolic acid, which makes up about 4 percent of the plant by weight, has been shown in animal trials to have anti-arthritic effects.

Directions: Put 1/2 ounce of rosemary leaves in a 1-quart canning jar and fill the jar with boiling water. Cover tightly and let it stand for thirty minutes. Drink a cup as hot as possible before going to bed, and have another cupful in the morning before breakfast.

Epsom Salt Baths
Folk traditions call for Epsom salt baths to relieve pain. Epsom salt was reputed to have magical healing properties. Epsom salt is primarily magnesium sulfate and has been used medicinally in Europe for more than three hundred years. The heat of an Epsom salt bath can increase circulation and reduce the swelling of arthritis, and the magnesium can be absorbed through the skin. Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body, participating in at least 300 enzyme systems. Magnesium has both anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic properties.

Directions: Fill a bathtub with water as hot as can be tolerated. Add 2 cups of Epsom salts. Bathe for thirty minutes, adding hot water if necessary to keep the bath water warm.

Angelica
Various species of angelica have been used to quiet pain by American Indians throughout North America. The European species (Angelica archangelica) and the Chinese species (Angelica sinensis) have been used in the same way in the folk medicine of Europe and China respectively. The Chinese species is sometimes sold in North America under the names dang gui or dong quai. All species contain anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and anodyne (pain- relieving) properties. The European species of angelica has been used in European folk medicine since antiquity, as has the Chinese species in Chinese medicine.

Directions: Place 1 tablespoon of the cut roots of either species of angelica in a pint of water and bring to a boil for two minutes in a covered pot. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until the tea cools to room temperature. Drink the pint in 3 doses during the day.

What ever you decide to do with regard to treating your medical condition, always consult with your GP before starting any alternative therapies or medicines.

Coping with a Whiplash Neck Injury.

Even with the many advances in medicine and in particular skeletomuscular medicine, Whiplash is still not that well understood. Severity of injury varies considerably between people in the same types of car accidents, even when circumstances are similar.

Speed is a major factor, as is the weight of the vehicles.

There are several other factors involved. When the person sees the accident coming, the injury is often less severe. This may be because the nervous system has time to prepare.
The position of the neck at the time of impact also plays a role. Risk of injury appears to be greater when the head is turned to the side than when it is facing straight ahead - except in very low speed crashes. The position of the headrest is important - it needs to be at the proper height and distance from the head to reduce severity of injury. The strength of a person’s neck also plays a role. Females, having less strength in their necks, generally suffer more severe whiplash injuries than males.
Seatbelts with shoulder harnesses should always be used and head rests at the proper height for the person. The height of the headrest should be just above the ear. The distance between the headrest and back of the head should be two to four inches.
Symptoms may occur immediately after the injury or set in gradually over the next couple of days. It is common for a person with no immediate symptoms to wake up stiff and sore the next morning. Whiplash can vary greatly in severity and cause a wide range of symptoms. Not all people experience the same symptoms. Symptoms that develop rapidly often indicate a serious injury.
The most common symptoms of whiplash are neck pain and stiffness. The neck becomes stiff as muscles tighten up to protect the injured area from further injury by reducing motion.
Headaches are also common. Pain originating in the neck (from muscle spasms in the neck and/or irritated nerves in the back of the neck) is often referred to the head. The pain may felt be over the entire head or any area of the head - often over the forehead and behind the eyes.
There may be back pain or shoulder pain, or numbness or tingling in the arm. Other symptoms of whiplash include problems with memory and concentration, feelings of disorientation, dizziness, ringing in the ears, impaired hearing, blurred vision, sensitivity to sound and light, irritability, depression, and difficulty sleeping.
Neurological symptoms may be the result of injury to soft tissue injury to the neck or a mild brain injury or concussion. A sudden jolt to the head can jar the brain. Neurological symptoms often resolve within a week.
If symptoms occur immediately or shortly after the accident an ambulance should be called so that the neck can be immobilised during transport to a hospital emergency ward.
There may be serious injuries that may require immediate medical treatment (such as haemorrhage, fracture, dislocation, or spinal cord injury). In addition, auto accidents that result in whiplash may also result in other injuries such as chest injuries, back injuries, internal injuries, etc.
Always seek a proper diagnosis from a GP, even if the symptoms are mild. The diagnosis may be based upon symptoms alone, or an MRI or CT may be taken to see the extent of soft tissue injury. X-rays may be taken to rule out fractures or dislocation.

Treatment depends on severity of symptoms. If the injury is mild, applying ice packs at home for the first couple of days along with the short-term use of NSAIDs may be sufficient. If symptoms are moderate (especially if there is limited range of motion), physical therapy is often recommended. Massage therapy and/or spinal manipulation may also be beneficial.
Applying IceApplying ice every four hours for the first couple of days helps reduce inflammation (the main cause of the pain). Inflammation is greatest for the first two days. Wrap ice in a cloth and apply to area of neck pain for 20 minutes every three to four hours.
Medications
Anti-inflammatory medication to relieve both pain and inflammation such as Ibuprofen or Aspirin are often helpful. Your GP may prescribe muscle relaxants or pain medication that contains codeine for temporary use.
Physical Therapy
Depending upon the severity of the whiplash injury, physical therapy may be recommended by your GP. A physical therapist can prescribe range-of-motion exercises, teach proper posture to avoid excess strain on neck, treat pain with cold and heat, etc.
Prolonged Use of Soft Collars do Delay Recovery.
Soft collars may be helpful for the first two or three days, when pain and inflammation are at its greatest. Inflammation may trigger muscle spasms - a protective mechanism to restrict movement to prevent further injury. Wearing a soft collar helps relax the muscles to relieve pain. However, prolonged use of soft collars has been shown to delay recovery from whiplash. Intermittent use may be recommended in some cases.
*If a fracture or dislocation is involved, a wearing moulded collar may be necessary to stabilize the neck.
How quickly one recovers from whiplash depends largely upon the severity of the injury. How quickly the symptoms develop often correlate with the seriousness of the injury.
Mild whiplash injuries often heal completely within two to three weeks, moderate whiplash injuries within two to three months. Severe whiplash injury may take several months to heal. For some people, symptoms (such as mild neck pain and/or headaches) may linger for longer periods of time. If symptoms are still present after six months, the pain is considered to be chronic. Chronic symptoms may last for years. Whiplash injury may increase risk of degenerative changes in the discs and spinal joints.

Their have been cases were people report that new symptoms appear years after the initial whiplash injury, though it is difficult to determine whether or not symptoms that appear years later are related to the whiplash injury.

Terry O’Brien
BackTrouble.co.uk

Just How Safe is Osteopathy?

How safe is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy has one of the best safety records of any medically related profession, however no form of medical treatment is ever 100% safe in every case.

Osteopaths have been trained to recognise any condition that might make osteopathic treatment inadvisable so that they can refer their patients for appropriate medical intervention when necessary. In the same way that a family physician regards safety as the most important factor in selecting the appropriate medication for a particular patient, Osteopaths also select the most appropriate style of treatment with safety as the prime consideration.

Contrary to that which some might try and lead you to believe, NO healthcare professional wants you to come to any harm.

Are there any side-effects or risks to osteopathic treatment?
Yes, but there are risks in everything that we do in life. Most of osteopathic patients feel no reactions at all.

Common: general ache or soreness for 24-48 hours following a positive response to osteopathic treatment.

Infrequent: exacerbation of symptoms due to reaction to osteopathic treatment.

Extremely rare: serious complications requiring medical intervention.

Upper Neck (Cervical HVT or HVLA) Manipulations

This leads us neatly into 'upper neck manipulations'. A topic that at best is described as "run-of-the-mill" and at worst is likened to the "handy-work of the devil himself". As is often the case, the truth is somewhere in between and YOU have to decide whom to believe as there is no simple answer.

If someone is NOT trained and experienced, you are asking for trouble. If your practitioner (osteopath or chiropractor) REFUSES to manipulate your neck, even if they are trained and you insist upon it, then you are a liability to both yourself and your practitioner.

Neck manipulations, whether osteopathic or chiropractic, are exceptionally safe when done by trained and experienced professionals. For example, a woman in the UK has more chance of dropping dead from using the contraceptive pill than suffering a stroke (or worse) from a neck manipulation. Think about it. how many women do YOU know who have died from using the contraceptive pill? For me, none, but I am very aware that inexperience in neck techniques can still be a liability.

Let's clear up exactly what a "stroke" is: a stroke is damage to the brain due to the interruption of its blood supply either by a small clot or a narrowing/overstretched blood vessel. Symptoms can involve headache, dizziness, confusion, visual disturbance, slurred or loss of speech, a difficulty in swallowing and, in some cases, death.

The causes of a stroke are unpredictable and can occur through sudden or extreme end of range positions. Look at the list below:

· leaning your head back over a basin at the hairdressing salon
· coughing
· sneezing
· turning your head while reversing your car
· or any of a number of other day-to-day neck movements.

The problem is this: there is no way possible for any osteopath, physician or chiropractor to predict with 100% certainty whom (if anyone) is susceptible to a stroke, just as we cannot predict which (if any) woman will suffer from using the contraceptive pill.

So how safe are osteopathic manipulations? The British health benefits (insurance) company BUPA describes osteopathy as follows: "There is a general consensus that osteopathy is less risky in terms of spinal injury because osteopaths usually use less forceful manipulation techniques on the spine."

Add the above quote from BUPA to data from North American chiropractors suggesting that 1 in every 1.46 million chiropractic neck manipulations will result in a stroke (1 in 1 million women in the UK will die from using oral contraception) and you can see how safe UK osteopaths can be... and that is not to take anything away from chiropractors and their expertise either.

So why do all the scare-mongers lay in to osteopaths and chiropractors? For me, it is a matter of some members of the public wanting someone to blame rather than taking responsibility for their own actions and also some physicians clinging to "medical paternalism" when the world of healthcare is changing rapidly.

Experience in these matters is essential and that is why full-time specific osteopathic training is second-to-none in the UK. I know that it will upset other countries trained osteopaths when I say this, but if someone is going to manipulate MY upper neck I know exactly whom I want to do it (and whom not). If they haven't had a tutor breathing down their neck daily for 4 years non-stop, then they are probably not as badgered about neck manipulations as our Osteopaths are in Britain.

The bottom line:

· If you have any concerns about neck manipulations, you should refuse them.

· If your Osteopath is concerned, he/she has the right to refuse to manipulate your neck, no matter how much of a fuss you create.

· If you are concerned with ANY symptoms either before or after osteopathic treatment, see your physician.

· If experienced osteopathic and chiropractic neck manipulations are as dangerous as some say, patients would be dropping like flies on a daily basis.

· Make up your own mind and don't let anyone (including me) convince you of something that you are not happy with.

www.backtrouble.co.uk/

Lifetime "Spinal Health" Programme!

Our network of clinic’s practice is very much a wellness based practice - recommending ongoing preventative treatment rather than alleviating the present symptoms and waiting for a further reoccurrence.

Our Lifetime ("Back" to Health programme) has been developed specifically for patients who have experienced recurring episodes of back pain. It has been developed to prevent continual reoccurrence. Up to now we have as practitioners been using reactive treatment. What we now offer is proactive treatment.

Reactive treatment is likened to saving a drowning woman, emptying her lungs and then returning her to the water. Our spine plays a fundamental role in our health as it supplies every organ in the body sending and receiving messages to and from the brain.

When a vertebra moves out of place it is called a "subluxation". This can cause nerve impingement and can affect the function of the organ that it is supplying. This can prevent "Optimum Health" and can cause degenerative changes leading to stiffness, pain, and other problems.

Recent research shows that within 3 weeks of a subluxation occurring, the first signs of wear can be detected. We therefore recommend monthly spinal health checks so that any misalignment can be corrected before they cause problems.

To encourage patients to attend monthly we have based it on a standing order. The cost is a modest £25 per month, which is less than 83p per day.

To find out more, simply email: consultants@backtrouble.co.uk

The Challenge of Back Pain

In our body, no area presents more of a challenge to doctors than the back.

Second only to that of head pain, debilitating low back pain strikes 80 per cent of us during our lifetimes; it causes millions of lost work days and accounts for a steady stream of patients to general practitioners.

In spite of endless research into its diagnosis, causes and treatment, medical practitioners seem no nearer to understanding back pain. The facts are that misdiagnosis or unproven and aggressive treatment with drugs and surgery contributes more to the problems of back pain sufferers than they do to the solutions.

Conventional methods of diagnosis are still very ineffective. For instance, routine x-rays to determine whether low back pain is caused by a serious condition are virtually useless. By treating back pain as a disease rather than a symptom, we have gone down many one way streets of diagnosis and treatment, with many patients only suffering increased pain from inappropriate treatment.

Some doctors have suggested that conventional medicine should increase its understanding of the back and its problems by adopting an osteopathic / chiropractic understanding of back pain.

The back then becomes part of a whole, complex structure that includes the spine, ribs, pelvis, hips and their surrounding muscles and ligaments and other supporting tissues, as well as the organs contained within those bony structures. Dysfunction or displacement of any of these parts of the structure can eventually lead to back pain.

The vast majority of medical practitioners need to be able to both evaluate and assess the whole impact of the back pain on an individual whilst the individual needs to be able to understand their back pain so that they can work more effectively with their chosen health practitioner.

Acupuncture For Neck Pain

A study by a team of researchers at the University of Southampton has revealed that Western style acupuncture can be effective in treating chronic neck pain.

Moreover its beneficial effects may be as much to do with the non-specific but powerful effects of the treatment process as the specific effect of the needles.

The results of the study are set out in a paper that appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine on 21 December 2004.

Chronic neck pain presents a substantial problem and may be responsible for as many days' absenteeism as low back pain. It is usually associated with unspecific degenerative changes such as osteoarthritis.

Acupuncture is the most frequently used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapy for the treatment of osteoarthritis, with approximately one million people in the USA seeking CAM treatment each year. However, despite this huge increase in popularity and use, there has been little sound evidence to date that acupuncture helps patients with chronic neck pain.

Led by Dr Peter White and Dr George Lewith of the University's Complementary Medicine Research Unit, this new study aimed to evaluate whether 'Western style' acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic neck pain. 'Western style' acupuncture involves a conventional diagnosis followed by the use of an individualised acupuncture treatment using a combination of prescriptive points. In contrast, a traditional Chinese approach formulates an individualised diagnosis based on Chinese theories of meridians and energy.

A total of 124 patients with chronic neck pain aged between 18 and 80 years took part in the study. Patients received eight treatments over four weeks having been randomly assigned either acupuncture or mock stimulation to acupuncture points by the same therapist.

Patients were only allowed to use paracetamol for pain relief and were not allowed to undertake any other forms of treatment - even exercises or stretches - during the study or for two months afterwards. During the treatment all patients kept a diary to record pain and also completed questionnaires before, during and after their treatment to assess ease of movement and quality of life.

The results show acupuncture was effective at reducing neck pain and produced a statistically but not a clinically significant effect when compared to the mock treatment or placebo.
Over the 12 weeks of assessment, patients from both groups reported a similar and significant decrease in pain levels of over 60 per cent. The number of patients taking paracetamol also fell, as did the average number of tablets taken by patients. Interestingly, the study also showed that female patients tended to respond better than males and further research is required to establish whether there is a real difference in response in the sexes.

The results of the study cannot be generalised because only one therapist treated all the patients; more information would be gained by using several therapists. It is also impossible to identify whether treating patients with a traditional Chinese medicine-based approach might produce a different outcome so the research team cannot comment on the 'best' type of acupuncture.

Dr Lewith comments: 'Our rigorous and methodologically sound study clearly shows that there was significant and long lasting improvement for both treatment groups. The implications for this are two-fold. First, acupuncture was clearly very effective at reducing pain, with patients experiencing large decreases over a prolonged period which would recommend its clinical use. Second, our study also implies that most of the improvement gained from acupuncture was not due to the needling process itself but due predominantly to the non-specific yet powerful effects which are probably part of the treatment process.