Drug Free Lower Back Pain Treatment

The FDA, not too long ago, approved the psychiatric drug Cymbalta for "treatment" of lower back pain. Now the word treatment insinuates that it helps heal the underlying injury or irritation that is causing the back pain, so lets debunk that right now, thats just how some news agencies are reporting that it helps relieve pain, and not treat it. Simply put, it is a pain reliever, and not an intentional one at that.

Treatment v. Relief
We dont just relieve pain. We treat what's causing pain, and that naturally leads to pain relief, thats long term and does not have any side effects. Any time you are putting foreign, synthetic chemicals in to your body to cover up the symptoms of an injury or condition that can be treated by a doctor using natural, non invasive and side effect free method, you put yourself at risk for all sorts of complications.
Medications, like mentioned on this blog many times before, cover up pain, which is treating a symptom and not addressing the cause, which isn't going to heal anything, so you may be on a medication with no end in sight. As long as the injury remains, you may be taking drugs to cover up the pain.
This is unsustainable and impractical, and in some cases, very expensive. Drugs cost a lot of money, and have been driving up insurance costs for years. Its easy to simply get patients in and out of the office by prescribing them drugs. A proper treatment protocol requires time, effort, and the ability of the doctor to maintain a good relationship and be aware of all the patients symptoms and complaints.

Forget the drugs, see a chiropractor
A recent Cochrane study showed that Chiropractic care was just as effective for treating lower back pain as traditional treatment, such as pain medication.
Cymbalta is especially troubling, since it isn't even a pain medication. Traditionally NSAID's (non steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs) are prescribed for short term pain relief, but Cymbalta was supposed to be an anti depressant, in a class of drugs known as selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSNRIs). The drug manufacturer found that one of the unintended uses for the drugs turned out to be the treatment of musculoskeletal pain.

Risks of Suicide
Treating the cause of lower back pain, like a herniated or bulging disc has no fatal side effects, nothing past a little bit of soreness for a couple of days. Non surgical treatments require no hospital visits as well. The risk of suicide is as far from plausible as you can imagine when it comes to chiropractic treatment for back pain.
There have been reported cases of unexplained suicices, and attempts at suicide from all over the world that have been linked to Cymbalta. People with no history of mental issues, or any history of suicidal thoughts or attempts, committed or tied to commit suicide while on Cymbalta, survivors were also unable to explain why they tried to commit suicide.

Starting with the death of 19-year-old Cymbalta test subject Traci Johnson in 2004–who hanged herself in the Lilly Clinic in Indianapolis and had no history of mental problems–it has been beset by reports of baffling, rapid, unprovoked, and out of character suicides.
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So are you likely to go home after a chiropractic adjustment or a round of physical therapy and kill yourself? No, that isn't even a question one can formulate without laughing, but a powerful drug with powerful, sometimes deadly side effects is now being made available to treat people who have no psychological disorders, but rather to treat their back pain. It almost defies understanding that someone would consider choosing a psychiatric drug over a safe, proven effective, drug free, non invasive treatment protocol.

Just say no to this drug when it comes to treating back pain, get yourself checked out by a reputable chiropractor.

Comments

Great article Doc! Chiropractic has always been drug free and natural. And hopefully chiropractic will remain drug free. Chiropractic works without drugs and that's good news given all the side effects and deaths with medications.
Unknown said…
Chiropractic saves patients money by reducing their need for pain medication. Many drugs merely mask pain without addressing its underlying cause. Chiropractic goes to the root of the problem, helping patients live pain-free without the use of medication.

Have you ever estimated how much money your family spends on pain medication per year? If not, calculate it now. (Take care to include over-the-counter drug costs, which alone can reach monumental sums.) Chances are you’re spending more on covering up your pain with drugs than it would cost to treat your family to a year’s worth of preventative chiropractic care!
Going to the root of the problem and helping give the patient a long term solution = that is chiropractic at its core.
Derek said…
The Chiropractics practitioner wil conduct tests that are physical and neurological on you just to ascertain the magnitude of the problem. An experienced Chiropractic practitioner will just come to the conclusion of the problem by having a feel of the curvature and shape of your spinal cord which will give him a clear basis to decide the course of treatment. Getting the problem diagnosed properly id the first step towards a proper treatment from where you can expect the best results.
Janine Zargar