A worrying article published in the Age newspaper shows over 2,000,000 Australians are exceeding the recommended dosages for pain relief medications.
Over use of drugs such as Nurofen can lead to gut health issues such as reflux, stomach ulcers and worse. Ibuprofen is very harsh on the stomach lining, and should not be used long term. Similarly the study found patients exceeding the recommended dosage of paracetamol-codeine tablets, which have an addictive nature, can cause constipation and eventually damage your Liver.
What is more worrying is many are doing this without their GPs supervision. So what is the alternative?
As shown in the recently publish Acupuncture Evidence Report, Acupuncture is a highly effective form of pain management. Lower back, knee and neck pain which can lead to problems like sciatica and headaches often lead to people living off pain killers. This research paper shows that Acupuncture is a proven method of pain management for so many conditions. It is further backed up by a study done by RMIT University in Melbourne Emergency Rooms, showing Acupuncture as an effective alternative to Pain medication in some instances.
Another study shows acupuncture useful for osteoarthritis of the knee: “The use of acupuncture is associated with significant reductions in pain intensity, improvement in functional mobility and quality of life. While the differences are not as great as shown by other reviews, current evidence supports the use of acupuncture as an alternative for traditional analgesics in patients with osteoarthritis.”
For over 10 years I have been treating people in pain, many of them all come in saying they have been living off pain killers for a while, or worse, they don’t even work. We as human beings have a bad habit of thinking problems will just ‘go away’. Sadly this is rarely the case. Pain which is ongoing and requiring constant medication should not be ignored. You should seek advise from your GP as well as looking at proven therapies like Acupuncture for assistance.
Feel free to contact my clinic on 9796 2388 or browse my Pain Relief page for more information.
