Prescription Painkiller Drugs Kill People

From an article, by Dr. Mercola, with the full title - "Prescription Painkiller Drugs Kill More People Than Murders or Car Accidents in the US". This article was important to me as I had abused Motrin for probably 20 years for my knee and back pain before I found a better solution other than just masking the pain. It used to be nothing for me to take up to three 800 mg Motrin's a day and now am so thankful that I don't have to take pain killers anymore. So whatever you think of Dr. Mercola, he has a lot of truth in his article (below):

Deaths caused by overdosing on painkillers now surpass murders and fatal car accidents in the US. America’s rising drug problem recently received renewed attention following the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The 46-year-old Oscar-winning actor died from a heroin overdose on February 2. Last year, Hoffman entered rehab when addiction to prescription painkillers led him to switch to heroin. US officials now acknowledge that narcotic painkillers are in fact a driving force in the rise of substance abuse and lethal overdoses.

Over the past five years alone, heroin deaths have increased by 45 percent– an increase that officials blame on the rise of addictive prescription drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet, codeine, and Fentora, all of which are opioids.

The reason for the resurgence of heroin is in large part due to it being less expensive than its prescription counterparts. According to Gil Kerlikowske, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy:

“The use of opioids — a group of drugs that includes heroin and prescription painkillers — is having a devastating impact on public health and safety in communities across the nation.

In 2010, approximately 100 Americans died from overdoses every day. Prescription painkillers were involved in more than 16,600 deaths that year, and heroin was involved in about 3,000 deaths.”

Prescription Medications Are the New Gateway Drugs

Many are still under the illusion that prescription drugs are somehow safer than street drugs, but it’s important to realize that prescription medications like hydrocodone and oxycodone are opioids—just like heroin.

As explained by Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone “are all classified as opioids because they exert their effect by attaching to the opioid receptor found in our brain and spinal cord.”

They also create a temporary feeling of euphoria, followed by dysphoria, which can easily lead to addiction. Some people end up taking increasingly larger doses in order to regain the euphoric effect, or escape the unhappiness caused by withdrawal. Others find they need to continue taking the drugs not only to reduce withdrawal symptoms but to simply feel normal.

Opioids also depress your heart rate and breathing. Large doses can cause sedation and slowed breathing to the point that breathing stops altogether, resulting in death.

According to a 2013 US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report, nearly 80 percent of people who recently started using heroin had previously used prescription painkillers. As reported by WebMD:

“To break this link, the federal government has begun to crack down on ‘pill mills’ and doctors who over-prescribe narcotic painkillers. It has also developed education programs for doctors and patients on prescribing painkillers and disposing of unused prescriptions.”

Shocking Report: More Than 14 Percent of Pregnant Women Prescribed Opioids!

Do you ever occasionally wonder about the fantastic lack of common sense among prescribing physicians? According to one recent study, more than 14 percent of pregnant women were prescribed opioid drugs during their pregnancy.

The paper called for more research to assess the risks to the fetus, in light of such surprisingly high prescription rates. But truly, knowing the risks involved in adults, how could anyone in their right mind imagine the risks to an unborn child might be anything but harmful?

Back pain—a problem most pregnant women have to deal with—was the most commonly cited reason for the prescription. Narcotics were also prescribed for complaints of abdominal pains, migraine, joint pains, and fibromyalgia. As reported by Medical News Today:

“The study looked at data from a research database of more than 530,000 pregnant women enrolled in a commercial insurance plan who delivered their babies between 2005 and 2011. Their median age was 31… Of the more than 530,000 pregnant women, 76,742, or 14.4 percent, were prescribed opioids at some point in their pregnancy…

[A] US National Birth Defects Prevention Study (1997-2005) found associations between codeine and other opioids with birth defects, including atrial and ventricular septal defects, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, spina bifida, and gastroschisis in newborns. Additionally, the US national study cites that when opioids are used long-term during pregnancy, ‘there is a known risk for neonatal opioid dependence and subsequent withdrawal symptoms in the first few days of life.’”

FDA Finally Clamps Down on Painkiller Prescriptions

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently recommended tighter controls on painkiller prescriptions, and has announced its intention to reclassify hydrocodone-containing painkillers from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug. The drug schedule system classifies medications based on their potential for abuse and addiction, as well as other medical criteria.

The reclassification will affect how hydrocodone-containing drugs can be prescribed and refilled. Doctors will only be allowed to prescribe a 90-day supply of the drug per prescription, and they will no longer be permitted to phone in refills; rather the patient has to bring the prescription with them to the pharmacy.

The new regulations are expected to take effect sometime this year. Ironically enough, while talking about the need for stricter controls and less addictive painkillers, it recently approved the first drug containing pure hydrocodone for the US market, called Zohydro ER (Zogenix). All other hydrocodone-containing painkillers on the market are mixed with other non- addictive ingredients. Zohydro ER was approved for patients who need around-the-clock pain relief. As reported by Bloomberg at the end of October last year:

“The approval came as a surprise since an FDA panel of outside advisers gave the drug an overwhelmingly negative review last year. The panel of pain specialists voted 11-2, with one abstention, against approving the drug. It questioned the need for a new form of one of most widely-abused prescription drugs in the United States. The approval also came a day after the FDA said it would support stronger restrictions on combination drugs containing hydrocodone.”

Do You Really Need a Narcotic Pain Killer?

I strongly recommend exhausting your options before resorting to a narcotic pain reliever. It’s quite clear that these drugs are being overprescribed, and can easily lead you into addiction and other, more illicit drug use. I strongly suspect that the overreliance on them as a first line of defense for pain is a major part of the problem. Remember, no matter what type of painkiller you choose, it will come with potentially serious risks to your health. I believe there are better alternatives. If you are suffering from pain, whether acute or chronic, I recommend working with a knowledgeable health care practitioner to determine what’s really triggering your pain, and then address the underlying cause. Remember, along with exposing you to potentially deadly risks, medications only provide symptomatic relief. They do NOT address the underlying cause of your pain.

13 Non-Drug Solutions for Pain Relief

The following options provide excellent pain relief without any of the health hazards that prescription (and even over-the-counter) painkillers carry. If you are in pain, try these first, before even thinking about prescription painkillers of any kind.

1.Eliminate or radically reduce processed foods, grains, and sugars from your diet. Avoiding grains and sugars will lower your insulin and leptin levels and decrease insulin and leptin resistance, which is one of the most important reasons why inflammatory prostaglandins are produced. That is why stopping sugar and sweets is so important to controlling your pain and other types of chronic illnesses.

2.Start taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat. My personal favorite is krill oil. Omega-3 fats are precursors to mediators of inflammation called prostaglandins. (In fact, that is how anti-inflammatory painkillers work; they manipulate prostaglandins.)

3.Optimize your production of vitamin D by getting regular, appropriate sun or safe tanning bed exposure, which will work through a variety of different mechanisms to reduce your pain.

4.Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a drug-free approach for pain management of all kinds. EFT borrows from the principles of acupuncture, in that it helps you balance out your subtle energy system. It helps resolve underlying, often subconscious, negative emotions that may be exacerbating your physical pain. By stimulating (tapping) well-established acupuncture points with your fingertips, you rebalance your energy system, which tends to dissipate pain.

5.Astaxanthin is one of the most effective fat-soluble antioxidants known. It has very potent anti-inflammatory properties and in many cases works far more effectively than anti-inflammatory drugs. Higher doses are typically required and one may need 8 mg or more per day to achieve this benefit.

6.Ginger: This herb has potent anti-inflammatory activity and offers pain relief and stomach-settling properties. Fresh ginger works well steeped in boiling water as a tea or grated into vegetable juice.

7.Curcumin: In a study of osteoarthritis patients, those who added 200 mg of curcumin a day to their treatment plan had reduced pain and increased mobility. A past study also found that a turmeric extract composed of curcuminoids blocked inflammatory pathways, effectively preventing the overproduction of a protein that triggers swelling and pain.

8.Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients. This is one of my personal favorites as I have seen it work well with many rheumatoid arthritis patients.

9.Bromelain: This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti- inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form but eating fresh pineapple, including some of the bromelain-rich stem, may also be helpful.

10.Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a “joint lubricant” and an anti-inflammatory. I have used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.

11.Evening Primrose, Black Currant, and Borage Oils: These contain the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is useful for treating arthritic pain.

12.Cayenne Cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.

13.Methods such as yoga, Foundation Training, acupuncture, meditation, hot and cold packs, and other mind-body techniques can also result in astonishing pain relief without any drugs.



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10 Surprising Dangers of Vitamins and Supplements

I came across this article by the Editors of Consumer Reports,........ More than half of American adults take vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other nutritional supplements. Some of those products aren’t especially helpful, readers told us in a recent survey, but that aside, don’t assume they’re safe because they’re “all natural.” They may be neither. Here are 10 hazards that we’ve distilled from interviews with experts, published research, and our own analysis of reports of serious adverse events submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, which we obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Read and be warned. MyAchingKnees advises "Read and use some critical thinking".

1. Supplements are not risk-free
More than 6,300 reports of serious adverse events associated with dietary supplements, including vitamins and herbs, streamed into the FDA from supplement companies, consumers, health-care providers, and others between 2007 and mid-April of 2012. The reports by themselves don’t prove the supplements caused the problems, but the raw numbers are cause for some concern. Symptoms included signs of heart, kidney, or liver problems, aches, allergic reactions, fatigue, nausea, pains, and vomiting. The reports described more than 10,300 serious outcomes (some included more than one), including 115 deaths and more than 2,100 hospitalizations, 1,000 serious injuries or illnesses, 900 emergency-room visits, and some 4,000 other important medical events.

The FDA gets far more reports about serious problems with prescription medication than about supplements. But there’s a big difference between the two, notes Pieter Cohen, M.D., an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts with a special interest in supplements. “These powerful medications with powerful side effects are actually saving lives when used appropriately,” he says of prescription drugs. “But when healthy consumers use supplements, there’s rarely, if ever, a powerful lifesaving effect.”

The FDA suspects most supplement problems never come to its attention, says Daniel Fabricant, Ph.D., director of the agency’s Division of Dietary Supplement Programs. But those that do are still useful because they can raise red flags about a developing problem. For instance, last year the agency noted seven reports of serious health problems regarding consumers who took Soladek vitamin solution, marketed by Indo Pharma of the Dominican Republic.

When the FDA learned that tested samples contained vitamins A and D at concentrations many times the recommended daily allowances, it issued a consumer warning. Why not simply order a problem product off the market? Current laws make that so difficult for the FDA that to date it has banned only one ingredient, ephedrine alkaloids. That effort dragged on for a decade, during which ephedra weight-loss products were implicated in thousands of adverse events, including deaths.

Type the name of the supplement you’re interested in into the search box at www.fda.gov to see whether it has been subject to warnings, alerts, or voluntary recalls. If you suspect you’re having a bad reaction to a supplement, tell your doctor. You can also report your problem to the FDA at 800-332-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

I have a hard time believing that supplements cause some much problems, but given the fact that the vast majority of supplements are manufactured using food grade manufacturing processes rather than much higher standard of pharmaceutical grade manufacturing process, some of the issues with off the shelf supplements have to stem from toxins or impurities from the manufacturing.

2. Some supplements are really prescription drugs
Fabricant has said that dietary supplements spiked with prescription drugs are “the largest threat” to consumer safety. Since 2008 there have been recalls of more than 400 such products, mostly those marketed for bodybuilding, sexual enhancement, and weight loss, according to the FDA. We’ve seen many recalled products that have contained the same or similar active ingredients as prescription drugs, such as sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and sibutramine (Meridia, a weight-loss drug that was withdrawn from the market in 2010 because of evidence that it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes). Others contained synthetic steroids.

Those adulterated products can cause some of the same side effects and interactions that consumers may have been trying to avoid by choosing supplements over drugs. The FDA has received reports of strokes, acute liver injury, kidney failure, pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lung), and death associated with drug-tainted supplements. “A number of the spiked sexual enhancement products claim to work within 20 to 45 minutes,” Fabricant said on the FDA’s website. “When we see a product that makes claims above and beyond what a dietary supplement might do—above supporting health—and within a time frame of a few minutes, it tips us off that we might have a spiked product.” Slim down with diet and exercise.

Build muscles by weight training. And consult a doctor if you need help in the bedroom, since it could indicate an underlying health problem. If you suspect you’ve purchased a product that is tainted with undeclared prescription drugs or steroids, send an e-mail about it to the FDA, at taintedproducts@fda.hhs.gov.

More than half of American adults take vitamins, minerals, herbs, or other nutritional supplements. Some of those products aren’t especially helpful, readers told us in a recent survey, but that aside, don’t assume they’re safe because they’re “all natural.” They may be neither. Here are 10 hazards that we’ve distilled from interviews with experts, published research, and our own analysis of reports of serious adverse events submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, which we obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Read and be warned.

There it is again, the low, non regulated food grade manufacturing process. Ask the Olympic Committee why they don't recommend their athletes taking OTC supplements. Ask the Olympic Committee which Pharmaceutical grade supplements sponsors many of their athletes. Plus there are certainly many professional athletes coming up "hot" on banned substances who claim to be taking OTC supplements.

3. You can overdose on vitamins and minerals
Unless your health-care provider tells you that you need more than 100 percent of the recommended daily intake of a particular nutrient, you probably don’t. “It doesn’t make sense to me to take huge doses of vitamins and minerals unless there’s a diagnosed problem, because there is so little evidence that they do good and sometimes a possibility that they might do harm,” says Marion Nestle, M.P.H., Ph.D., a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University.

I know who I won't be asking nutritional advice from. The proof's in the pudding Marion, that 1- you cannot get all your required nutrients from today's food supply and 2 - there is an undenible link of nutritional deficiencies to the long list of degenerative diseases affecting us. And these degenerative diseases are hitting us when we are younger and younger,....is that because we are producing weaker humans? It is much more likley to be linked to terrible foods that we commonly consume today.

4. You can’t depend on warning labels
For one thing, the FDA doesn’t require them on supplements. There is an exception: Supplements that contain iron must warn about accidental overdosing and fatal poisoning in children.

Not only does the FDA not require warning labels on supplements, they donlt require food grade supplements to be produced to any guaranteed quality.

5. None are proved to cure major diseases
If you’re surfing the Internet for dietary supplements and find a site that claims its products can diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease, surf right off to another site. Such claims are off-limits to supplements, according to the FDA. “We’d like to see those things go away,” Fabricant says. “Those are a direct threat to public health.” Since 2007, the agency has sent dozens of warning letters to companies telling them to stop making those types of claims about their supplement products.

Earlier this year, for instance, the FDA sent a warning letter to BioAnue Laboratories of Rochelle, Ga., when these statements and others were spotted on websites: “Formula CX will reverse wasting disease,” and “Bovine cartilage stops tumor growth.” (The FDA said it’s still reviewing the company’s response. The president of BioAnue Laboratories told us it “complies with all U.S. laws.”)

We're not going to see any FDA sponsored or approved message concerning supplements and degenerative disease. If they did it would put a whole in the wallets of the drug companies. 

6. Buy with caution from botánicas
???? I'm only buying pharmaceutical grade products. I'm not buying from Botanicas, the local Vitamin Shop, nor from the Voodoo lady on the corner.

7. Heart and cancer protection are not proved
Omega-3 pills and antioxidants are widely thought to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, respectively, and millions of women take calcium to protect their bones. But recent evidence casts doubt on whether those supplements are as safe or effective as assumed. Calcium.

The latest blow against calcium supplements was a report by German and Swiss researchers who followed almost 24,000 adults for an average of 11 years. They found that regular users of calcium supplements had an 86 percent increased heart-attack risk compared with those who didn’t use supplements, as reported in the June 2012 issue of the journal Heart. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant 30 percent reduction of heart-attack risk among adults with a moderately high intake of calcium from food itself.

Omega-3 fish oil. The widely held view that fish-oil pills help prevent cardiovascular disease hit a snag when a study of 12,500 people with diabetes or prediabetes and a high risk of heart attack or stroke found no difference in the death rate from cardiovascular disease or other outcomes between those given a 1-gram fish-oil pill every day and those given a placebo, according to a June 11, 2012, New England Journal of Medicine online report. But the results may be clouded by the fact that participants were already taking other heart medication. Most people can get enough omega-3s by eating fatty fish at least twice a week.

The American Heart Association says that people who have coronary artery disease may want to talk to their doctor about omega-3 supplementation. Antioxidants. Far from reducing cancer risk, as a lot of people believe, high doses of some antioxidant supplements may actually increase it, evidence suggests. The discouraging news appeared in the May 16, 2012, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Based on current evidence, vitamins C and E haven’t been found to shield people from cancer; vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C don’t seem to protect against getting or dying from cancer; selenium doesn’t prevent prostate cancer; and there’s no convincing evidence that beta-carotene or vitamin A, C, or E supplements prevent gastrointestinal cancers. Still worse, the researchers wrote, “Some clinical trials show that some of these antioxidant nutrients may increase cancer risk.”

What skews these reports is the facts that people are consuming real crappy supplements. There is no doubt in my mind there would be a vastly different outcome reported if the testing and consuming was with quality supplements.

8. Pills can irritate the esophagus
Really? Then take them with water.

9. Some ‘natural’ products are anything but
Vitamin pills can be synthetically, and legally, produced in a lab. Synthetic ingredients are even allowed in multivitamins that bear the Department of Agriculture’s “Organic” seal. But the FDA has said that synthetic copies of botanicals don’t qualify as dietary-supplement ingredients at all. “Vitamins can be synthetic because, by definition, a vitamin doesn’t have to come from nature,” says Fabricant at the FDA. They just have to perform the biological activity of vitamins, he added, whereas a “botanical” means that it was alive at some point. In other words, botanicals and their extracts must come from actual living plants, not a test tube.

Some nutrients are best in a synthetic form. And there are some, like Melatonin for instance, which the body produces, but the form we take as a sleeping aid is synthetic. This reminds me of a gent I was talking to about his sleeping problems. He said he never gets more than 3 hours at night. He also drank three Monster Energy drinks through the day. He could not see the link between his energy drink consumption and his lack of ability to sleep, so he was seeking a sleeping aid. I told him about a pharmaceutical grade Melatonin that worked for several of my clients. He asked me if it was "natural" because we would not take anything "synthetic" (although he could pump massive amounts of Monster!). I told him "No, this Melatonin was farmed from dead bodies,......just kidding, of course, it is synthetic." He ended up declining to try it. Last thing I heard is that he went to a tarot card reader to see what his sleeping problem was all about.

10. You may not need supplements at all
If you are already getting the recommended amount of nutrients by eating a variety of fruit, vegetables, cereals, dairy, and protein, there’s little if any additional benefit from ingesting nutritional supplements.

Ok, I'll take Consumer Reports word that they may not need supplements, but at 53 years old with no more knee and back pain, 140 cholesterol level, BP at 118/82, fasting blood sugar at 80 or less, I'll stick to taking quality supplements.

Read the original, and long, Consumer Reports article here.

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Hungry for Change - Change we can all use

Hungry for Change - The Movie, is a A Documentary Film About Creating Lasting Weight Loss, Abundant Energy and Vibrant Health. Featuring many nutrition experts such as Dr Alejandro Junger, Dr Christiane Northrup, David Wolfe, Daniel Vitalis and Dr Joseph Mercola.

More on this movie can be seen and many media product ordered at the Hungry For Change website.




From my perspective poor nutrition is a major cause of all sorts of degenerative disease including the joint and back pain that brought me into what is a now a life long quest to ensure I get the nutrients my body needs to fight off, as best I can, the on-set of these debilitating diseases. 

Watch this trailer and see if it doesn't get you to order the movie.





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Dr Oz on Relieving Back Pain

MyAchingKnees is a fan of Doctor Mehmet Oz and in particular his Health Corps where he and others are working to educate teenagers on fighting obesity. Obesity is rampant among our youth and leads to all sorts of degenerative disease and conditions including joint painn and diabetes.

From Simple Ways to Relieve Back Pain, Dr Mehmet Oz explains that sometimes it is better to simply live with back pain and to stay active as many times the quicker you get moving the faster the recovery.

MyAchingKnees concurs, but one must know the difference between an actual injury and simple muscle soreness.

Dr Oz goes on to state that over the counter NSAIDS (Non Sterodial Anti Inflammatory Drugs), such as Ibuprophen, Napricin, Aspirin can be effective in reducing and controlling the pain.

MyAchingKneeswants to caution people when taking NSAIDS. I abused Motrin for years and have no sworn off taking any NSAID with the exception of Aspirin for headaches.

Ice or Heat? Oz explains that both can help, but Ice initially then followed up by Heat will do a better job of controlling inflammation and pain. He also recommends Menthol and Capsaicin creams which can create heat and are also effective in controlling pain.

MyAchingKnees believes in these pain relieving creams, which can also enhance circulation and stimulate recovery through enhanced blood flow, paritculary effective when used in conjunction with massage therapy.

We recommend a product developed by Bill C. Coats, R.Ph., C.C.N., of Coats Aloe. Dr Coats has been manufacturing Aloe Vera products in FDA Inspected Facilities, since 1962. In fact, I was exposed to his products about 30 years ago by my sister. I always keep a bottle of Aloe Vera Linament in my bathroom.

Back to Dr Oz. He also states that if you have pain lasting more than a week - then see your Doctor. And if you have to do any rehabilitation, it can often be done in your home or office. Dr Oz finishes by demonstrating a simple seated hip and back stretch in the video. Watch the video by clicking on the link to the article at top of this post.



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Herman's Back Pain

I recently had a prospective client, Herman who is 30 years old, come to me complaining about back pain. Herman wanted to know if the pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine would help his back. Apparently, Herman suffers from lower back pain, not constant nor chronic, but just time to time.

On a hunch I asked Herman he had regular bowel movements or was routinely constipated. Herman said that when he flies, which he does about three or four times a month, he gets constipated but did not link back pain with being constipated. I told him that sitting for a long period of time in those ridiculous airplane seats is not good for you, nor is the fact that we tend to drink much less fluids, like water, when we travel by air.

Harold told me that he has about two bowel movements a week. I about fell out of my chair. Now Herman is not a really skinny guy, so it’s not like he is only eating once a week, but I told him that he needed to have a bowel movement at least once a day. Colon impaction and toxic buildup can bring about back pain as often as sitting like a school marm in a straight backed chair.

So, rather than put Herman on our high quality Glucosamine, I gave him an information paper on Digestive Health; told him he needs about 25 grams of quality dietary fiber per day; told him that Pro-biotics and Digestive Enzymes were probably a good idea – I take both.

I also told Herman that Colon Cancer is the third most common cancer in men AND women, and just because he was only 30 years old did not mean he could not be at risk. I mentioned that there are some good foods related to colon health:

Whole grain pasta and breads. Not the white enriched stuff, but the actual whole grain product, preferably without preservatives. These are high in fiber which of course move food through the digestive track faster. These foods also have anti-oxidants which can help battle oxidative stress and therefore degenerative disease.

Strawberries. What a great little snack they are also high in fiver, Vitamin C and Folate. These nutrients are thought to also reduce colon cancer risks.

Dairy Products. Because they are high in calcium, dairy products, especially milk and yogurt are thought to help colon health. Yogurt is also a source of pro-biotics for the stomach.

Broccoli and Cauliflower. I love Broccoli, but can do without that white vegetable known as cauliflower, but these cruciferous vegetables are thought to reduce colon cancer risks.

Spinach and Asparagus.Not my favorites, but both these cruciferous vegetables are high in folate.

If anybody would like a copy of the Digestive Health article that I gave to Herman, just e-mail me and ask for it and I’ll reply back with a pdf copy.

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Question About Electrical Stimulation Machines for Pain Management

MyAchingKnees.com received a question from a reader on electronic therapy devices,……What do you think about electrical pain control machines? A friend of mine told me that her friend uses one and it helps with her back pain? I have knee pain and do not want to take any pain killers. Thanks, Teresa.

Teresa, first of all, good for you not wanting to take pain killers. I refuse to take even NSAIDS like Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen.

I think what you are thinking about with the electrical therapy devices that blocks pain is actually called a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation or TENS for short. These devices send electrical impulses through electrodes placed over your area of pain. TENS is very safe and has not side effects. And if a TENS unit works for you or anybody else and can keep you from taking pain killers, then drive by all means use it.

A decent TENS unit is designed to do several things: to work by three different methods:

- The electrical current is thought to stimulate the body's release of pain reducing endorphins.

- The electrical current is thought to intercepts pain signals before they reach the brain.

- The TENS increases blood flow in the local affected area thereby thought to increase recovery and healing time. I know a weight trainer who tells me that it helps drive lactic acid out of his muscles.

Most of the manufacturers of TENS units will tell you that you should not use the device if you have heart problems; using a pace maker; are pregnant; have seizures; or have ear hair,…..just kidding about the ear hair.

I have used a TENS quite regularly with Chiropractic care, however in the last five years I have not had the need to see my Chiropractor so I am out of the loop on the newer TENS devices.

I believe the electrical stimulation of my back muscles with the constant contraction and extension help relax my back to keep from tight muscles affecting my spinal alignment and therefore the pain. The increase blood flow to that area is sufficient reason in my mind to use a TENS.

Most people will find that 10-15 minutes a day or just a couple times a week will help. However, the TENS device is really not providing other than temporary relief. I still suggest the people take high quality nutritional supplements that can treat the cause of your pain, which in many cases is the damage from oxidative stress.

One of the high rated TENS unit is the AuraWave units (pictured above), available on-line, at K-Mart or from Amazon.com below.




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Busser’s Back Pain Reduced By Wearing Strange Shoes

A gentleman who did not want his real name used was telling me that he was augmenting the back pain reduction he was experiencing with the pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine product by wearing a specialized footwear sometimes know as “Skeleton Toes” or “Five Finger shoes”.

In the past two months I have seen quite a few people wearing this type of foot wear where each separate toe has it’s own sleeve.

Some of the more common manufacturers and names are: Merrel Barefoot shoes, Vibram Five Fingers and Bikila, and, Fila Skele-toes.

Make no mistake about it, these “shoes” if you can call them that, are not your house slippers. Although some versions are made for water use and could be used around the house. Some of these versions with a several millimeter thick abrasion resistant vibram sole and EVA midsole are made for running and hiking.

Some of the advantages of wearing footwear like this is the separation of the toes which can help circulation and minimize rubbing of the toes and therefore formation of blisters and corns.

Busser tells me that his lumbar back pain, especially walking on the concrete, has been further reduced by wearing these shoes. He also told me that for the first week your feet and calves will be a little more sore but that’s a good thing as you are strengthening your foot and lower leg. Busser’s knee pain, which went away almost totally using the pharmaceutical Glucosamine, came back in a different fashion with wearing these shoes, but he said it must have been muscle releated as it went away with the calf and foot soreness. I guess they just take getting use to.





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Back Pain

Although I fractured my T2 vertebrate and tore a Rhomboid muscle, I always considered my back pain secondary to my knee pain. What I have noticed is the combination of supplements I have been taking for almost 5 years has to be the reason for my tremendous relief of my knee pain, but must have also improved my back. My wife remarked several months ago that I haven’t complained about my back for several years.

I found this decent base line article from RealAge on Back Pain

Underlying Causes of Back Pain

Injury to a muscle or a ligament in the back is the most common reason people experience back pain. When you strain a muscle or ligament, you may feel pain immediately, or days later.

But an underlying health condition, such as arthritis, could be to blame, too. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of the disease. Ruptured or herniated disks in the spine -- which become increasingly likely with age -- can pinch nerves and cause pain, too.

Other medical problems that may lead to back pain include:

* Osteoporosis
* Fibromyalgia
* Scoliosis
* Spinal stenosis
* Degenerative disk disease
* Endometriosis
* Infections (such as osteomyelitis or meningitis)

Bad Habits That Hurt Backs

Certain everyday habits could make your back more vulnerable to pain and injury. Here are five habits you should nix in favor of a healthier, stronger back.

Smoking: This habit can increase the risk of back pain, research suggests. Smoking also increases the risk of osteoporosis. Try this proven program for quitting smoking.

Slouching: This puts strain on the structures of your back. Try these five steps to perfect posture right now.

Couch/Computer surfing: A largely sedentary existence will contribute to weak core muscles -- and set you up for back pains and strains. Try these tips to keep your back happy at the computer.

Awkward sleep: A crooked, bunched up, crammed sleep position can leave your back stiff. Relax your back with this sleeping position.

Stress: High stress levels increase muscle tension, which can magnify back pain. Try these seven stress-taming foods.

How to Help Your Back Feel Better

One of the most important things you can do to help yourself recover from back pain is to stay mobile. A day or two of bed rest is fine if you're really hurting, but after that, muscles begin to atrophy, which will make your back muscles weaker and make future injuries and pain more likely. So try to stay mobile, even if you just take short walks while you recover. Here are some treatments that may help you get around more comfortably:

Hot and cold therapy: Cold packs can help reduce swelling and inflammation if used the first day or two after injury. After that, the warmth of heating pads or hot water bottles can help relieve muscle tension and spasms.

Pain medications: Over-the-counter acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin can help provide short-term relief of back pain. But don't exceed the dosing instructions. And see your doctor if your situation does not improve.

Rub-on relief: Pain-relieving ointments, gels, creams, and salves are applied directly to the skin and may help reduce stiffness and muscle soreness.

The good news is that about 90% of people with acute low back pain get better within 4 to 6 weeks.

MyAchingKnees.com comment: Yep. Pretty standard response - focusing on treating pain relief rather than the cause. I find it amazing that RealAge did not mention Nutritional Supplements or Optimizers like Glucosamine or Omega 3 Fatty Acids as a possible relief not only for the symptoms of back pain but to address the root causes of degenerative disease.

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids for Back Joint Pain

When talking about adding Omega 3 Fatty Acids to a nutritional supplementation for Joint Pain has some people asking "Why Omega 3 Fatty Acids? What do they have to do with Joint Pain relief?"

A recent University of Pittsburgh study using a daily dose of 2,400 mg of EPA/DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid and Eicosapentaenoic acid), then reducing to a dose of 1,200 mg of EPA/DHA on subjects with back pain resulted in 60% of the subjects gaining relief from chonic back pain. However the big statistic is that 80% of the subjects stated they would continue to take Omega 3 as they saw or felt other benefits as well.

My Aching Knees believes that Omega 3 Fatty Acids (usually derived from Fish Oil) is not only effective for joint pain but studies have suggested other health benefits as well, which include:

May significantly inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells.

Appears to help the brain to work faster, it increases IQ scores and slows down the aging process by reducing inflammation. (Lawrence Whalley, a mental health professor at Aberdeen University)

Fish oil with a high EPA content improves behavior, concentration and learning resulting in better grades at school. (The Durham trials led by Dr Madeleine Portwood)

High levels of EPA fish oil, may be an effective treatment for ADHD. (Adelaide University)

Fish oil reduced the severity of the symptoms for Bipolar disorder. (Dr Andrew Stoll)

Omega 3 supplementation improves complex cortical processing with improvements in mood and a reduction in anger, anxiety and depression. (Italian study by Fontani)

We have witnessed changes not only in chronic joint pain when adding a pharmaceutical grade Omega 3 to Glucosamine, but we have also seen positive (and quick) changes in ADD/ADHD children when Omega 3's are added to a daily anti-oxidant/multi-mineral nutritional supplement.

Be careful not to take non-pharmaceutical grade Fish Oil Supplements and you cannot be guaranteed to purity or potency and the presence of toxins, such as mercury can be significant.

Tim's Unexpected Benefit from Glucosamine

Tim, from Denver, is an Electrician who worked on several multi-story commercial building.  Part of his job required carrying tools and heavy loads of material (wiring and conduit) up long flights of stairs.  He had thought that he may have to find a different job as his knee joint pain was getting worse and being in his early 50's, he could not retire.  

Tim recently e-mailed me and told me that he started taking the same Pharmaceutical Grade Glucosamine that I am taking. He said he was willing to try anything because his livelihood was on the line.  Tim wrote that  his knee joint pain was so debilitating that he was actually working in the Newspaper Job ads to find other possible employment (figure the odds in this period of economic downturn and high unemployment). He also stated that he had tried Off The Shelf Joint Supplements from Wal-Mart and other retail sources, for the past several years, all without any positive effect on reducing his knee pain.

Anyway, to get to the point, Tim wrote that not only is his knee joint pain greatly reduced, but his back pain which had been giving him problems as well, has been significantly reduced as well.  I replied back to Tim to try adding Pharmaceutical grade Fish Oil that provides EPA, DHA and two important long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and I think he will get even better results as well as giving his body a cardio-vascular nutrient. 

Tim is another success story.  He was fortunate that his knee joint problems, and back pain or back problems were such that could be helped with high potency, pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine.  Although there are some surgical procedures that are minimally invasive, a good idea is to always first start looking for solutions that possess the least risk.