Fish Oil May be Safer Treatment than NSAID for Degenerative Disc Disease

A new study is assessing whether back and neck pain from degenerative disk disease can be helped using fish oil supplements. The supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids might be a safer treatment than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for some individuals with nonsurgical back or neck pain.

Researchers are Joseph Maroon, MD, and Jeffrey Bost, PAC, whose study at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s neurological surgery department was published in the medical journal Surgical Neurology.


One in four U.S. adults will be affected by degenerative disc disease at some time in their lives. This condition in which shock-absorbing disks in the spine wear down is one of the largest causes of pain and disability in this country.

Although NSAIDs and Cox-2 inhibitors are potent painkillers, their long-term use can lead to stomach ulcers or increased risk of heart attack or stroke. The Cox-2 inhibitors Vioxx and Bextra were removed from the market in 2004 and 2005 due to suspected heart risks.

Researchers studied 250 people seen by a neurosurgeon for nonsurgical neck or back pain. Patients were asked to take daily fish oil supplements while gradually phasing off their NSAIDs over a two week period.

Patients initially took 2.4 grams of omega-3 EFAs, after which most cut their dose to 1.2 grams daily of fish oil supplements. After taking fish oil for 75 days, patients returned surveys. Three-quarters of them reported taking 1.2 grams daily of omega-three EFAs, while the rest took 2.4 grams daily. More than half had stopped taking any NSAIDs for pain (59%).

Study finding showed the following:

• 60% of patients noted overall improvement in their pain
• 60% specifically reported less joint pain
• 80% were satisfied with their improvement
• 85% noted they would keep taking fish oil supplements

Researchers understand that patient expectations of pain relief (placebo effect) may have played a role in their reported results.

Maroon and Bost have called for additional appropriately designed studies to confirm the effectiveness of omega-3 EFAs for spine-related pain.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Feel Giddy During Exercise??Wanna Know

Image
Do you feel sleepy, or have vertigo, or tend to fall, if yes, then you also come in those people who feel giddy during exercise or after the exercise. So I want to tell you, if you are going somewhere wrong during exercise, don’t be tensed just read this: 1)    The first and most important thing you are forgetting is lack of fluid, our body needs at least 7 to 8 glass of water and food which contain lot of fluid like curd and fruit juice, so always drink water while exercise or even after exercise. 2)    If you work out in morning after your last meal which you had around 9 hours back , your body seems to be so low on energy and it requires a good amount of nutritious food  so always eat fruit or drink fruit juice before half an hour of exercise 3)    If you are suffering from anemia then it is also the reason behind feeling dizzy while doing or after exercise 4)    Fast movements in exercise can cause the giddiness to those peo...
Read more

Condoms Offer Effective Protection for HPV

Image
A three-year study of 82 women volunteers, initially virgins, at the University of Washington showed that after becoming sexually active, they reduced their chances of contracting human papilloma virus (HPV) by 70% when partners always used a condom. Women in the study kept journals of their sexual practices and were checked for HPV every four months with swabs of the cervix and other genital areas. They noted whether there was any genital contact before using the condom. HPV can cause cervical cancer, genital warts, vaginal, vulvar, anal and penile cancers. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD), infecting about 80% of young women within five years after becoming sexually active. HPV is frequently killed by the immune system, but in some women, the virus causes lesions that can become cancerous. Worldwide, about 500,000 develop cervical cancer and nearly 300,000 die of it annually. In the U.S., some 3,500 women die of it each year. Known to prevent AIDS a...
Read more

Weight Loss Meals Body Fitness With Yoga And Exercise

Image
Yoga can rejuvenate the mind and physique with optimistic power that’s frequently necessary to tackle every day duties and challenges. But simply because you can find a lot more folks who don’t have the luxury of time to invest freely on tutorials, it’s imperative that yoga be provided by means of various venues and portal. You can find simple and helpful books that generally offer you basic tutorial to folks who wish to discover yoga. Prior to you commence on this course of action, you need to ideally check with along with your medical doctor as to whenever you ought to begin to physical exercise.And once you eventually have all of these down pat, once you have your healthful weight reduction strategy, whenever you have your gentle exercising regime, and when you have discovered the determination to stick to via with it, you’ll be able to take a modest nap from your exhaustion of planning the way to reclaim the body after pregnancy. A educated instructor can tailor your exercises dep...
Read more