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Dos and Don’ts for Back Pain

by Dr. Julian Whitaker

Published 02/03/09

The Trouble With Typical Back Pain Treatments

Over-the-counter pain relievers are the first treatment most people turn to when experiencing back aches, and they can certainly be a blessing when the pain is acute. However, prolonged use of virtually all pain-relieving medications spells trouble.

Acetaminophen is hard on the liver and kidneys. Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs damage the stomach and intestinal tract. COX-2 inhibitors increase risk of heart attack. And opiates are highly addictive—you may recall Rush Limbaugh’s widely publicized problems a few years back stemming from his addiction to painkillers he took for back pain.

You can sidestep some of the adverse effects of certain prescription painkillers by applying them topically. Although few physicians seem to know about this, NSAIDs such as ketoprofen and anesthetics like ketamine can be mixed into rapidly absorbed creams or gels by compounding pharmacies. When rubbed into painful areas, these preparations provide fast and often dramatic relief with little systemic drug absorption.

Topical NSAIDs and anesthetics require a prescription and must be ordered from a compounding pharmacy. To find a compounding pharmacy near you, call 800-927-4227 or visit iacprx.org.

Nature’s Own Pain Relievers

Whether your pain is short-lived or longstanding, you have options other than drugs. One is fish oil, nature’s richest source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. When 250 patients with chronic back pain took high doses of fish oil along with their NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors for an average of 75 days, 60 percent reported symptomatic improvement—and more than half discontinued their drugs altogether. I recommend a minimum of 2,000 mg of high-quality fish oil per day for pain relief.

We also have good success at the clinic with the herbal pain reliever, Asalixx (a willow bark extract from the German manufacturer Bionorica). This botanical has been shown in multiple clinical studies to be effective at relieving back pain—particularly in the lower back. You can purchase it through many nutritional supplement retail stores or online sites.

Vitamin D supplements may be beneficial as well. Deficiencies in this vitamin can result in softened bones, a condition called osteomalacia that may manifest as persistent back pain. Researchers tested the vitamin D level of 360 men and women who had suffered low back pain for at least six months and found that 83 percent of them were deficient in this nutrient.

Study participants then took 5,000–10,000 IU of vitamin D per day for three months. Significant improvements were noted in all patients who initially had low levels, and in a majority of those whose levels were already in the normal range.

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