Why pain killers are BAD for an injury

CLIFTON PARK (Jan. 26) — So you get into a car accident or slip on some ice, what do you do? If the accident is not serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, many people just take some pain killers to help alleviate the pain until the injury heals. They do not realize, however, that NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Advil, Tylenol and ibuprofen contribute to a shocking number of serious complications and deaths each year.

Antonio Marotta D.C.A statement from a July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine states the following: “Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally underappreciated.”

How many people know this? How many people in the U.S. alone take these medications daily? It used to be recommended to take low-dose aspirin to prevent heart disease even if they had no previous history of the condition. Though these recommendations have recently changed, some medical doctors still feel the benefits outweighs the risks.

Why is it not a good idea to take NSAIDs when you have injured your body? Plainly stated, NSAIDs delay the healing process of bones, soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, tendons), the gastrointestinal tract, etc.

NSAIDs are widely used to treat athletic injuries. NSAIDs are very efficient against pain, early muscle recovery and injury in sports to allow faster return to the game. But NSAIDs do not promote healing of bone fracture, tendon and ligament injuries. For sport performance purposes, NSAIDs actually do not help at all, but the side effects of prolong intake can worse the sports performances. (See: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in sport.)

Other research explains why NSAID use should be avoided in cases of injury and healing.

Doesn’t it make sense that when you are injured you need to heal? The faster the better, right? Improper healing or delayed healing often leads to chronic pain cycles, fibromyalgia, improper scar tissue formation, reinjury, instability of joints, unbalanced muscles and the like.

There are alternatives to NSAID use. The first thing to address would be the cause of the pain. (Pain is nothing more than a symptom of something more serious.) Many times the cause of pain is something physical in nature, and therefore responds to a physical medicine such as chiropractic care.

Chiropractic care is more than just “cracking bones.” Chiropractic helps to:

  • Realign the formation of scar tissue, so that it does not impede proper joint/muscle movement;
  • Restore normal movement and function to your joints and muscles;
  • Provide neurological stimulus, which in turn stops the pain cycle and induces your immune response (healing);
  • And much more.

Often times people who undergo chiropractic treatment get great results in little time. Their pain decreases, their range of motion increases, their muscular tension diminishes, their immune system gets stronger, and they feel great!

Antonio Marotta D.C. is a Clifton Park chiropractor.

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