Natural pain relief is a vital alternative to analgesics
09/16/2005
If you've ever tapped out a couple of aspirin or acetaminophen in search of pain relief while wondering, "I took a dose of these just hours ago - why do I still have a headache?" the answer might be right there in your hand.
In a study published in the Journal Neurology, researchers surveyed nearly 65,000 subjects who reported on their use of analgesics (pain relievers), and their frequency of headaches and other discomforts such as back and neck pain.
The findings confirmed earlier studies that have demonstrated how frequent analgesic use to address chronic headaches or body pains may be the cause of headache pain in as many as half of the patients who suffer from chronic headaches.
Aspirin and acetaminophen can actually GIVE you headaches.
Natural pain relief remedies are therefore a logical and preferable alternative.
The Neurology study reports that subjects who suffered from headaches caused by analgesic overuse, were treating chronic headaches or pains with analgesics on 15 or more days each month. Once this vicious cycle is in place, the only way out is to completely discontinue analgesic use until the headaches pass.
But anyone who takes a daily aspirin to help prevent heart attack and suspects that analgesics are the source of chronic headaches should check with their doctor before they simply go cold turkey or they run the risk of heart problems.
"For many years we have known that many drugs actually cause some of the problems they are meant to solve," said Judy Cutler, a respected nutritionist in Southern California and developer of Naturally Painless, a natural pain relief spray.
"It is always preferable to use natural products which the body can assimilate without unpleasant side effects, rather than running the risk of starting a never ending cycle of pain-drug-pain-drug. All sorts of physical pains can be successfully relieved with natural pain relief remedies like Naturally Painless which the body actually prefers."