Critical Warning Signs for Neck or Back Pain

Although back pain and neck are very common it is not normal to have either pain.  Back and neck pain are signals from your body that something is out of balance… If you often have neck or back pain try using PrestoPainGo when you first feel the the pain getting started.  Frequent acupressure can help bring your body back into balance and prevent further pain.  If your neck or back pain keeps returning after weeks of Presto treatments we recommend that you contact an acupuncturist or other licensed health practitioner to diagnose and treat your condition.

Although it is rare, some neck or back pain may be a sign of a serious medical emergency like meningitis, the growth of a tumor, cardiovascular disease, or an adverse reaction to medication. Contact a licensed health professional immediately if you experience any unusual neck or back pain with any of the following symptoms:  changes in consciousness, visual disturbances, unusual lumps in the neck, pain referred from the chest, weakness or shooting pain in arms or hands, unexplained sudden onset, or a combination of stiff neck, fever, nausea, and vomiting.

Risks of Using Over the Counter Drugs or Prescription Medications

Treating back pain or any pain with prescription or over the counter medications can lead to numerous long term side effects including chronic headaches which have their own medical acronym: MOH (medication overuse headache).

Regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, which include: aspirin, ibuprofen (as found in Advil®), naproxen (Aleve®), and a long list of prescription NSAIDS (see below) often lead to life threatening gastrointestinal ulcers and/or bleeding. NSAIDs can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer.  Studies have also shown that they interfere with bone healing and may increase the rate of arthritic joint deterioration. NSAIDs may also damage the kidneys of elderly patients and are linked to an increased risk of renal (kidney) cell cancer.  A recent study found that males who are regular NSAID users are 38% more likely to have erectile dysfunction. The news is even worse for pregnant women because using NSAIDs during pregnancy can more than double (2.4 times) the risk of having a miscarriage.  

Commonly prescribed NSAIDS include: celecoxib (Celebrex®), diclofenac (Voltaren®), etodolac (Lodine®), fenoprefen (Nalfon®), indomethacin (Indocin®), ketoprofen (Orudis®, Oruvail®), ketoralac (Toradol®), oxaprozin (Daypro®), nabumetone (Relafen®), sulindac (Clinoril®), tolmetin (Tolectin®), and rofecoxib (Vioxx®).
 
Quotes, references, and links to articles which give further details about the risks of NSAIDs are listed below.
 
“Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone.”  July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/deadly-nsaids
 
Several clinical studies have shown that the use of NSAID’s accelerates the rate of osteoarthritis and increases joint destruction.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29449930/Fooling-Mother-Nature-Is-Usually-a-Bad-Idea-by-Joe-Pizzorno-ND
 
Congestive Heart Failure:
Page J. MBBS(Hons) and Henry D. MBchB, “Consumption of NSAIDs and the Development of Congestive Heart Failure in Elderly Patients”, Archives of Internal Medicine, March 27, 2000, Vol. 160, pp. 777-784
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/6/777
 
NSAIDs may damage kidneys.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/nsaids-may-harm-elderly-kidneys.aspx
 
“Long-term daily use of ibuprofen was also associated with an increased risk of breast cancer [51% increased risk with a range between 17% to 95% increased risk], particularly of nonlocalized tumors (92% increased risk with a range between 24% to 297% increased risk).” 
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use and Breast Cancer Risk by Stage and Hormone Receptor Status
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 97, No. 11, 805-812, June 1, 2005  (PDF file)
http://www.kedu.us/Ask%20the%20Doctor/cancer%20and%20nsaids2.pdf      
 
“Use of NSAIDs and use of acetaminophen were significantly associated with increased risk of hypertension, but aspirin use was not. A substantial proportion of hypertension in the United States, and the associated morbidity and mortality, may be due to the use of these medications.”
Archives of Internal Medicine. October 28, 2002;162:2204-2208
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/162/19/2204