Herbal News Magazine
All About Herbal Medicine, Alternative Health News and Natural Supplements
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Aug 11
It’s good to know of some alternative herbal treatments instead of traditional medicines if you suffer from rheumatism or osteoarthritis pain. The usual traditional medication for this disease is nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are called NSAID’s, for short.
The NSAID’s have a long list of side effects that many people find difficult or impossible to tolerate. NSAID’s side effects can include bleeding ulcers, high blood pressure, dizziness, ringing in the ears and kidney problems.
One alternative approach to this traditional treatment is the herbal remedy, boswellia. Boswellia is extracted from the serrata tree that grows in the hills of India. Boswellia is known familiarly in the Western world as frankincense and can be a great natural or herbal painkiller alternative to medical versions.
Boswellia is from the resin of the serrata tree and it has been found useful in the treatment of muscle soreness associated with rheumatism and osteoarthritis. The key substance that gives boswellia it’s anti-inflammatory properties is boswellic acid.
It is because of it’s anti-inflammatory action that it has been found effective to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatism. Boswellia works to reduce pain and therefore it increases physical functioning for the individual.
Other areas where boswellia can be beneficial are for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, asthma and menstrual cramps. Colitis is considered an inflammatory bowel disease therefore the use of boswellia has been found to be effective. In a 2007 study, the individuals who took the boswellia instead of the placebo were more likely to have their colitis go into remission.
A 1998 study supports the effectiveness of boswellia for the treatment of asthma. Results showed that 70% of individuals that took boswellia, 300 mg., 3 times a day, for 6 weeks, showed improvement of symptoms.
Boswellia is herbal and natural but you should still consult with your doctor before taking it. It should not be taken by pregnant or nursing women. There are a few side effects that can occur while taking boswellia and they are rare.
It is a mild diuretic, so keep your fluid intake up and make sure you take boswellia with food to avoid any stomach irritation. Side effects of boswellia can be stomach pain, diarrhea, rash, nausea, heartburn and a full feeling in the stomach.
If you have side effects, discontinue use and consult with your doctor. Boswellia is generally considered safe when used and taken as directed.
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Tagged as: anti inflammatory, arthritis, boswellia, herbal, killer, muscle, natural pain relief, pain, pain killer, painkiller, rheumatism, side effects, soreness, ulcerative colitis -
Jul 3
A new device may offer hope to an often difficult to treat, and often painful and debilitating condition : the migraine headache (although the headache part is often just one little piece of this disturbing illness).
Only thing is, the device is supposed to be implanted into the skin on the back of the neck (ouch), and the results aren’t strong enough yet to win FDA approval specifically for the treatment of migraines.
Another somewhat scary thought is that the device works by delivering mild electric shocks, which you shouldn’t feel at all, but which are supposed to reduce the amount of pain or discomfort, or the actual occurrences of, migraine headaches and their associated symptoms.
However, some patients in the trials showed significant relief and reduction in occurrences of migraine headaches. The device is already being used in Europe, and may be soon allowed in hospitals for the relief of migraine pain if it can get through the rigorous approval process.
If you think about your friends and family, I bet there are a few people at least that you can think of who you know that suffer from migraines to varying degrees. I’d recommend you check out Migone natural migraine remedy if you are looking for a smart, economical and all natural way to remedy your migraines.
Migraines can really affect your quality of life, depending on their severity and how you experience your symptoms. Some people experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness and vertigo (some so bad they cannot get out of bed), flashing lights in front of the eyes, extreme light sensitivity, and an array of other symptoms that are pretty undesirable!
Some of the triggers that have been identified for migraines are caffeine, sugar, other types of stimulants, weather changes, stress, anxiety, and a laundry list of individual triggers that the medical community may not even have identified since they can be highly individual in the way they are triggered.
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May 25
If there is one thing I’ve learned after years of suffering from car accident-inflicted back, shoulder and neck pain, it’s that I definitely need a great mattress at night and proper spinal alignment when I’m sitting or in bed at night, to maintain a level of comfort and ideally, totally prevent the pain from setting in.
Back injuries and back pain are one of the most common complaints when it comes to chronic, every day pain. Joint pain is a close second, but many of us thankfully are spared from joint pain and joint health problems until we are in our later years. Both back pain which starts in the muscle tissue and joint pain are no picnic though.
I’ve found one of the best ways to make sure I’m aligned at night and wake up feeling like I’m not going to break in half is to put a pillow under my knees if I’m laying on my back, and to also have a body length pillow if I’m sleeping on my side. The body length pillow is very helpful for sleeping on the side.
This is because a body pillow aligns your spine when you put it between your legs. It brings the knees in alignment with one another, and doesn’t making it so you’re knocking knees and throwing your spine out of alignment. Oh, it’s also great for us ladies to prevent that pesky wrinkle between your breasts that appears in the morning when you’ve been laying on your side all night (which by the way an turn into a permanent wrinkle).
You just have to make sure you put the pillow up there between them and you’ll find that line never appears in the morning from the compression. Trust me, I do it, and the wrinkle is no longer there, and hopefully will never become a permanent fixture on my body.
There are also special pillows sold, which I own, that actually mold to your body. When you lay on them, they kind of contour around your neck and head and support it with just the right amount of pressure. It’s the memory foam ones. They’re about thirty bucks a pop, but they last a long time and they really do support your head and neck like nothing else I’ve ever tried.
You can even flip them onto a larger ridge for when you are laying on your back and need a more severe “bump” to lay on, and a less severe ridge for when you are sleeping on your side. These are ways that you can help prevent that nagging, throbbing back and neck pain that seem to come when you aren’t sleeping in the right positions. So at least you can start your day out right!
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Mar 5
The number of joint replacement surgeries have been increasing in recent years and, according to projections done by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, are expected to continue to rise. They predict an increase of 600% by the year 2030.
Several factors are causing this trend. The large baby boomer population is shifting into the retirement age and the obesity rate in our country is estimated to be at about 33%. Joint pain is common as we age, and many people turn to both prescription and herbal products for joint pain and joint health.
The process of aging brings about changes in the joints due to diseases such as arthritis and many years of wear and tear on the cartilage in these joints. Of course, obesity will accelerate the wear and tear on the joints due to the load bearing from the excess weight.
Usually, after all other options are used first to repair joints, a joint replacement surgery will be done. When a patient is in a great deal of pain and mobility is restricted or impaired from stiffness and lack of cartilage, joint replacement surgery will be the only option left to resolve the problem.
In years past, the median age for joint replacement surgery used to be age 65 and older. The biggest increase proportionately in these surgeries is now patients age 60 and younger are having them done more often. Younger patients often opt for the joint replacement surgeries so they can continue their high levels of activities pain free such as participation in sports.
A set of statistics for all prospective patients to look at before considering surgery is how long each joint replacement is expected to last. This is especially important for the younger clients.
Knee replacements are among the most common surgeries and have a high success rate of more than 90% for pain reduction with movement.Typically, a knee replacement will last 10 to 15 years. Recovery time is usually weeks instead of months due to improved surgery techniques. A shoulder, or humeral prosthesis, is usually done for patients with arthritis or who have had a severe fracture.
This type can only be done if the socket has remained healthy prior to surgery. The shoulder replacement, on average, lasts 12 to 20 years. Hip replacements are usually seen in older patients. With this surgery, the most common post surgical problem is dislocation.
Hip replacements generally last 15 to 20 years. Younger clients will often need a second hip replacement in their lifetime due to the fact that they tend to put more wear and tear on the joint. Other replacements done are wrist, ankle and elbows.
Questions to ask your doctor prior to surgery are how many joint replacement surgeries they have performed and also what their pain management is like after surgery. You will want a doctor with a high amount of experience as this will effect the outcome.
The better the post surgical pain management, the faster and smoother the recovery time will be.
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Nov 29
It seems that serious, narcotic painkillers are really posing some serious health issues. Enough so that the FDA has even pulled some of them from the market due to various health issues that are coming to light from using them. The latest painkiller drug to be pulled now is the common one that makes up the well known painkiller Darvocet and Darvon.
This drug has been identified as causing heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats that can lead to potentially serious problems for patients which it effects. The interesting part is that Britain actually pulled this drug before the US did. Usually the US enforcement arm for this type of problem with pharmaceutical drugs is actually more cautious than other countries, but in this case it looks like it took us a bit longer to come to the same conclusion.
The problems that occurred in the EU over Darvon, Darvocet and its generic counterpart were suicides and overdoses that caused death. It’s not totally clear whether the US cases mimicked that, but hey, isn’t irregular heartbeat enough to take something off the market?
Darvon belongs to the opioid family of drugs, like the other heavy hitting pain relief drugs Oxycontin and morphine, both of which are highly addictive for the high-like states they induce. Very sad, because a lot of people who are put on these types of drugs get totally addicted to them, have withdrawal symptoms, and really have a generally awful experience because they had to be on something that would kill bad pain and had no choice.
Officials are really hoping and encouraging drug companies to come up with drugs that are not as harmful and addictive as the current painkillers are, so that they don’t have to heavily police this drug family and also worry about the adverse health effects on the patients who taken them regularly.
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