Did you know that in 2013, Australians spent approximately 629 million dollars on over-the-counter painkillers?
What are NSAIDs?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) are commonly used in the management of pain and inflammation associated with many musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
How do NSAIDs work?
Prostaglandins are hormone-like chemicals in the body that contribute to inflammation, pain and fever, by increasing the temperature and dilating the blood vessels in the area they are released. NSAIDs block a specific enzyme used by the body to produce prostaglandins. By reducing the production of prostaglandins, NSAIDs help relieve the discomfort of fever and reduce inflammation and the associated pain.
Some examples of NSAIDs you can get over-the-counter include:
Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Nurofen, Naproxyn, Advil and Voltaren
When people are experiencing acute pain, it is not uncommon for them to go straight to their local pharmacist to purchase some over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen. Does one type of anti-inflammatory work better than the other? While browsing the painkiller shelf you my find yourself overwhelmed with the array of products on display.
Don’t Be Fooled by Targeted Pain Relief Marketing!
Pharmaceurtical gaint Reckitt Benckiser was fined $1.7million in April of this year, after the court found Nurofen’s “specific pain range” misled consumers because they all contained the same active ingredient and did the same thing. Thus if you take the Nurofen specifically for low back pain, it will work in exactly the same way and produce the same amount of pain relief for a tension headache.
Unfortunately, I am not a pharmacist or a GP! Therefore I am not qualified to prescribe medicine. The aim of this blog is to give you some education about anti-inflammatories and why people use them. Depending on the cause and the severity of your pain, anti-inflammatories alongside physiotherapy may be helpful in reducing your pain. If you are considering taking NSAIDS it is important to have a chat with your GP or pharmacist, to make sure it is appropriate for you.
If you are in pain of a musculoskeletal origin, feel free to give us a call here at Bend + Mend in Sydney’s CBD and we can recommend the best Physio treatment for you.
