The report also revealed “a dozen cases in Health Canada’s adverse drug events database where people suffered liver injury or damage after taking acetaminophen for several days — despite taking doses below the daily limit.” Infants and senior citizens are at a higher risk of a negative reaction noted an internal Health Canada report.  

 

The risks, as of yet, have excluded harder opioid drugs.  More expensive and prescription only opioid painkillers have a higher risk of addiction to over the counter medication. 300 to 400 people die every year in Ontario from prescription opioid use, according to a report from the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.  Overdoses can occur even when the patient takes the doctor prescribed dose, it states.  Too many patients become addicted to painkillers and a great many who abuse painkillers began taking the drug as prescribed by their doctors.  Canadian Family Physician, Dr. David Juurlink, a clinical pharmacologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre studies the dispensing of high-dose opioids in Canada.  He said, "We need to expect less of the drugs we have for pain. They just don't work very well for many patients".  I did not get a chance, as of yet, to ask him what his thoughts are on acupuncture.  But what these facts tells us is that we should not rely on these drugs if at all possible and maybe seriously consider using drugs when all other methods of controlling pain have failed.  Especially given acupuncture’s adeptness of treating pain.

 

Why do I say this?  After all everyone know drugs are great!  Well I want to inform you of your options when it comes to your health before those options are made for you.  Too often acupuncture is thought of as a last resort.  I can assure you that would not be how my patients view this medicine.   Pain is a big reason why people seek out their doctors.  For some doctors reading this, I would like to gently encourage you to the idea that acupuncture might just be right for your patients.  A referral from you may help your chronic pain patients regain that control back over their lives.  From my experience, acupuncture has worked better than opiates, in cases of chronic pain, without the side effects.  Acupuncture may be able to help you lower the dosage you are taking now.  Always talk with your doctor before making any changes to your medication. 

 

Talk with me if you would like to know more about what it is I can do.  I offer free consultations.  If you enjoyed this article please share it to support the effort to keep information like this available to the public.

 

© 2016 by Adam Lawrence Taylor

www.onsitetherapy.ca

Use of this article, from the author, is granted provided that full and clear credit is given to Adam Lawrence Taylor and www.onsitetherapy.ca with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

Disclaimer     

The views expressed in this blog are my own are should not constitute advice. 

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/02/21/the_dark_side_of_acetaminophen.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/high-dose-opioid-painkillers-still-prescribed-at-high-rates-in-canada-1.2764680

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/01/17/star-investigation-canadas-invisible-codeine-problem.html

Chronic Pelvic Pain Part 2: Acupuncture is more effective than placebo

 

In Part 1, I spoke about a friend of mine who was receiving acupuncture for her debilitating pelvic pain and subsequently her symptoms and quality of life improved.  Unfortunately, a catastrophic car accident stopped her treatments all together.

 

I also spoke to the efficacy of acupuncture as an appropriate treatment and cited one study.  In that study, the lead author went so far as recommend that acupuncture be the conventional treatment offered to sufferers.  

 

Criticism towards the study could be made that the sample size was too small or that the study was performed in Taiwan.  China has not had a stellar record with reliable clinic trials.  

 

These are valid points: unfortunately small sample sizes are an all too frequent an occurrence in traditional medical trials.  One of the reasons being that there is just a lack of money allocated for natural therapies and their study. 

 

One major reason is that you cannot patent it or over charge as is the case with many pharmaceutical drugs.  But that is a subject for another day.

 

What I wish to bring to your attention are two further studies to support the one mentioned in my prior article on CPP.  The first article I wish to bring to your attention is a pilot study published in the Journal of Urology entitled “Acupuncture ameliorates symptoms in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome”.                  

 

The authors are Richard Chen and J. Curtis Nickel from The Department of Urology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.  Patients whose pain was unmanageable with conventional methods (antibiotics, alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatories, phytotherapy) received acupuncture for 6 weeks. 

 

They saw that 83% of their patients suffering from CCP had seen over a 50% decrease in symptoms after the study’s end.  What is interesting about this study is that the patients were treated with acupuncture twice weekly for 6 weeks, but after 6 months the decrease in pain was still reported. 

 

Their conclusions were that acupuncture is a low risk, effective and long-lasting treatment in improving the symptoms and life of men with chronic pelvic pain who are stubborn to improve with usual treatment.  The authors cited the problem with the study, http://www.goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(03)00141-9/abstract, which is that a larger study would be required to confirm their initial results. 

 

That brings us to the second study I wish to bring to your attention: a large study to confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture on CPP as published in American Journal of Medicine: http://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(07)00937-0/abstract.  

 

Eighty-nine men who had been confirmed to suffer from chronic pelvic pain were randomly assigned to 2 groups: One received fake acupuncture for ten weeks while the other group received real acupuncture for ten weeks. 

 

Pain was measured at baseline and at the end of the 10-week sessions. 

 

The study proved that acupuncture is an effective treatment for a condition that conventional medicine has had a hard time treating.  It also found that those who received acupuncture were more than twice as likely to improve than those who received sham acupuncture.

 

Drop the microphone! This dispute has been won. 

 

If you or someone you know has been silently suffering from chronic pelvic pain please call Onsite Therapy.  Perhaps your friend or family member is too embarrassed to tell you that their all-consuming pain is originating from their pelvic area.

 

Remember acupuncture successfully treats all kinds of pain.  Please remind them of this and help to spread this information.  Refer them to Onsite Therapy.  It could truly be a life changer.

 

If you enjoyed this article please share it to support the effort to keep information like this available to the public.

 

© 2016 by Adam Lawrence Taylor

www.onsitetherapy.ca

Use of this article, from the author, is granted provided that full and clear credit is given to Adam Lawrence Taylor and www.onsitetherapy.ca with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

Disclaimer     

The views expressed in this blog are my own are should not constitute advice.

New research from The National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan demonstrates that acupuncture is an effective medicine for chronic pelvic pain (CPP) or prostate pain.  See the study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26741647.

Researchers randomly assigned individuals suffering from CPP into three groups.  Control group sufferers were treated with conventional medicine; the second sham acupuncture and the final group received real acupuncture.

The difference between the sham and the real acupuncture group would gauge whether acupuncture is real and if positive results could be attributed to a placebo. 

The results demonstrated that acupuncture was the most effective treatment approach for these individuals.  The real acupuncture group had results significantly better than the sham or placebo group.

The author of the study went further by stating that acupuncture should be considered conventional treatment for people with chronic pelvic pain.

I have a close friend whose life was destroyed by this type of pain.   When someone sufferers from an all-consuming pain that cannot be seen on X-rays or MRIs and medical professionals suggest that the pain is imaginary. The situation seems hopeless. 

As the pain takes over, the sufferer is robbed of personality and abilities and relationships are jeopardized.

She tried acupuncture and was beginning to experience benefits.  However, enroute home following a treatment, her car was rear-ended.  Her pain magnified to what she describes as agony. 

She stopped going to treatments and vowed to stop driving to that part of the city again.  Eventually, she rarely drove anywhere and stayed in her house and only leaves for urgent necessities.

Onsite Therapy was created to help people like my friend.  It makes powerful medicine in the form of acupuncture therapy easily accessible and convenient. We come to you.  For most patients acupuncture is a relaxing experience.  You have nothing to fear except fear itself.

For those of you who suffer from CPP and are interested in acupuncture’s benefits but are scared of the needles, I urge you to contact Onsite Therapy today. 

I noticed a pattern with many of my former patients when I worked at a chiropractic clinic.  They came in with an ailment, maybe a bad back, or a stiff neck, usually work related.   Many had sedentary desk jobs, sitting all day doing small repetitive actions.  Job stress heightened the symptoms until the pain was unbearable.   So he or she walked into the clinic seeking relief. 

My patients came in for treatment once or twice a week for massage or chiropractic care.  After 4 to 6 weeks, patients saw significant reduction of their symptoms.  Notice I use the word symptoms.  Even though pain can disappear, the underlying causes may remain.

At this point I also found that many patients also disappeared!  This left me with a feeling of concern for the patient.  I hoped that they would continue good habits and seek a more active lifestyle.  Sadly, I just don’t think this was the case.  In some instances, insurance benefits will be spent if used heavily for 6 weeks of consecutive therapy.   Unfortunately it never seemed enough.

So the patient must decide whether to wait another year until the company’s benefits kick in again, or pay out of pocket.  Because finances should never be taken lightly we must budget our money rather than go into debt. 

How we spend our money is a funny thing.  We work hard to acquire nice things; a bigger house, new clothes, modern furniture.  Anytime one spends money and does not accumulate nice things on our list it seems as though we are getting further away from our goals. 

But consider this.  If you have enough money you can buy a new car, what you cannot buy is a new body.  You cannot buy the body you had when you were your younger, fitter self.  Perhaps as we age we wish our priorities would have been different. 

When retirement comes will your body be up for the adventures you have planned like picking up your grandchildren or traveling around the world.  What if years of neglect keep you from enjoying your plan for life? 

Spending money to rehabilitate an injury or disease is good value.  When you spend your money on therapy you are literally investing in yourself and your future.  This is not a hypothetical scenario.

 I treat patients who made oodles of money and spent it on acquiring items instead of on maintaining their health.  Those patients now require weekly treatments and spend a lot of money just to maintain their degenerative conditions and ease pain. 

Why would a patient pay out of pocket? It’s smart. A long term plan offers the best results, and “building on your achievements” is key to well-being.  Letting treatment slide can undo gains and make injury more likely. 

Occasional treatment can help muscle memory maintain its strength and length achieved through prior treatment.  Not completing a health plan may turn a temporary problem into a long term, sometimes life long struggle to achieve relief from pain.

I hope I have convinced you to invest in your health and future. Ageing can be a beautiful experience, especially ageing while being healthy and pain free.  Try acupuncture today. 

Call Onsite Therapy.

Yours in Heath

© 2016 by Adam Lawrence Taylor

www.onsitetherapy.ca

Use of this article, from the author, is granted provided that full and clear credit is given to Adam Lawrence Taylor and www.onsitetherapy.ca with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are my own are should not constitute advice.