Free pain pills

Free pain pills reminds us that analgesics come at a heavy cost.

They should only for incurable, terminal conditions, people who've just had surgery, and perhaps for the odd headache, or acute toothache. For the rest, rather treat the cause.

Yes, I'll admit it, the title of this page is misleading. It's just that the world has become hooked on pain pills instead of treating the cause of the pain.

And I'll confess that with a serious case of femoral nerve damage recently I needed analgesics for a few days whilst having chiropractic care; luckily though the sheer skill and determination of my colleague, I escaped the knife.

Joe's back

Joe's back.

It's been a hard day, and Joe's back is killing him. His wife has some Percocet left over from a trip to the dentist, and there's that big bottle of Tylenol under the sink, so Joe grabs a couple of each and washes them down with a slug of beer, and sits down in the deep "comfortable" chair in front of the TV.

Drat, he realises, that was the last beer, and heads off to the car.

"The world is indoctrinated in medicine. Peope are born in a medicine cabinet and grow up in a drugstore. They have been brainwhashed, hypnotized, mesmerized and drugged to believe their life-force comes from the Outside-In. Chiropractic must un-brainwash them and demonstrate that health comes from Inside-out."

- Dr. B.J. Palmer, D.C.

Joe has just made a litany of mistakes. I expect you can spot a few:

Mistake 1

Unless Joe has cancer of the spine, he should rather have reached for an ice pack (30 minutes on the back in a face-cloth, followed by some warmth like a hot shower) which would be far more effective.

Or Joe should have lain down on his bed and done a few back exercises. If you sign up for these Chiropractic Tips (they're free) you'll get some very basic exercises for the low back.

Here are some rather more difficult low back pain exercises. MAIGNES SYNDROME EXERCISES ...

And even more difficult back exercises:

These exercises have their critics, and rightly so. They don't adequately prepare Joe for the challenges of the day which certainly will include bending, lifting and then twisting.

But they have one great advantage: they get done. This programme takes less than two minutes. Done EVERY MORNING before getting out of bed, they have enormous benefit.

Mistake 2

NEVER take medicine prescribed for someone else! What Joe doesn't know is that Percocet contains Acetaminophen, as does Tylenol. He's just seriously overdosed. New frightening research is showing that those "free pain pills" he's just swallowed are very toxic for the liver. The FDA is now taking a long hard look at Acetaminophen, and about time. Hundreds die in the USA alone every year from liver failure from taking acetaminophen. A major problem is that it is contained as a second ingredient in many over the counter meds, as well as prescribed opioids such Vicodinand Percocet.

Are your free pain pills killing you? Literally.

"Acetaminophen overdose is responsible for more ER visits than any other medicine on the market."

- Wikipedia on Tylenol.

Anti-inflammatory drugs.

200,000 Americans die every year from the adverse effects of drugs.

Mistake 3

Looking for that luxurious chair is Joe's next mistake. Oodles of research shows that sitting is about the worst thing you can do if your back is killing you. Far better would be to go and lie down in the 90/90 position for twenty minutes - with your hips and knees at 90 degrees. Or on a bed with a couple cushions under his knees.

Mistake 4

Just having a big bottle of Tylenol, or any other pain killer for that matter, in his house is a serious free pain pill mistake. Under the sink?! This just confirms Dr Palmer assertion that Americans are "born in a medicine cabinet and grow up in a drugstore." Europe is not far behind either.

"Teen drug abuse is really up, especially with pain medications. It is not uncommon for kids to go to their parents' or grandparents' medicine cabinet and then go to a party and put the drugs in a bowl."

- pharmacist Kristen Binaso.

Mistake 5

Swallowing his medicines with alcohol is Joe's next mistake, really a pretty obvious one, but then most people have no idea of the dangers of medicines and their side effects. Alcohol is in itself a drug, and changes the way many drugs work. What's next? An ankle fracture as he trips and falls...?

"Drinking is an issue with IBUPROFEN (a popular anti-inflammatory drug). It can lead to bleeding ulcers."

- Kristen Binaso.

Mistake 6

Probably Joe's most serious mistake was to get behind the wheel of his car. A drugged driver he's now not only threatening his own life, but some innocent person down the street.

“Pain medications can make you drowsy.”

- again pharmacist Kristen Binaso.

I wonder if that's one of the reasons why America has such a Whiplash problem, and ranks so badly in the world when it comes to auto accidents?

Mistake 7

Lastly it's sad that Joe still doesn't know that the answer to his back is with his local Chiropractor! Most low back pain conditions are in the lumbar facet joints and sacro-iliac joints. There is just so much research now proving that adjustments of the spine and pelvis are the treatment of choice.

Atlanto occipital joint

Early chiropractors adjusted only the first bone in the neck, at the atlanto occipital joint. They were called "hole-in-one" doctors. Everything could be achieved by adjusting the atlas, whether or not you were taking free pain pills. 

Free pain pills

Free pain pills are only for incurable terminal conditions and after surgery; for the rest rather treat the cause.

  1. Home >
  2. Thoracic Spine Pain >
  3. Free pain pills

Did you find this page useful? Then perhaps forward it to a suffering friend. Better still, Tweet or Face Book it.

Share this page:
Enjoy this page? Then forward it to a friend. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.