The most common pain reliever for back pain, paracetamol, does not work any better than a placebo, according to a new study published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet.

Guidelines around the world recommend that doctors treat back pain with paracetamol, but the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney conducted a trial after being unable to find good scientific evidence that paracetamol was effective. Their trial involved 1,600 people who had recently been diagnosed with acute back pain. One group received a placebo, another was told to take paracetamol as needed and a third received regular extended-release paracetamol three times a day.

“Surprisingly we found that it didn’t really matter whether you gave people a placebo, paracetamol or time-contingent regular paracetamol, there was no difference in any of the outcomes,” said Professor Chris Maher who led the study.

“It didn’t speed time to recovery; it didn’t improve their pain; it didn’t improve their disability.”

Although most commonly used as a spice, turmeric has been used as a medicinal herb in Asia for thousands of years to treat a wide range of ailments from eye infections to leprosy. Turmeric is now being tested for possible benefits in managing various conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and low back pain. A study shows that a formulation of curcumin can reduce a series of inflammatory markers, relieving pain and increasing mobility – particularly in patients with osteoarthritis.MASSAGE THERAPYNumerous studies have shown the benefits of massage for reducing pain (both immediate and delayed), increasing circulation and increasing relaxation.

FSM

Frequency Specific Microcurrent Therapy directly targets individual tissues and cellular disturbances to repair damaged tissue. The powerful effect of Frequency Specific Microcurrent Therapy helps:

Relieve pain
Reduce muscle spasms
Reduce muscle loss
Increase blood circulation to injured areas
Maintain and /or increase range of motion to injured areas