Hey, guys!

I’m Dr. David with El Paso Manual Physical Therapy.

A lot of people that have back problems take anti-inflammatory drugs, stuff like ibuprofen, naproxen, there’s a ton of drugs out there that have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Even drugs that are injected into the body, like cortisone, other corticosteroid type drugs, they have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Although these drugs are a miracle for solving pain and reducing inflammation, they are not a good thing to be using for the long term.

It is not a good idea to be taking these drugs in hopes that the back problem will go away the rest of your life.

So, guys, I want to cover with you the “Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Taking Anti-Inflammatory Drugs”, either by mouth or injection, for the long term to solve your back problem.

Reason #1

It damages other tissues in our body.

Our kidneys, our liver, our stomach, even ligaments, and discs can be damaged with injected steroids.

We know this in the research that people can get internal bleeding in their stomach, they can get weakening in their ligaments, and this can cause further damage if you’re relying on anti-inflammatories to help your back problem.

Reason #2

Chances are, if you have a back problem, the common back type ones that cause spasms and stiffness, maybe even herniated disks, chances are that you’ve got some sort of muscular problem in addition to it, and that could be the root of the problem.

If you’ve got to get stronger or stretch out or there needs to be some change in your muscles, those medications aren’t going to help you with that.

They’re not helping you to get stronger or looser.

Reason #3

Those medications mask the symptoms.

Pain is there for a reason.

Pain is there so that we can know that there’s some problem so that we can begin to do something about it.

But if you take an anti-inflammatory medication and it takes away the pain and the inflammation, you might still have the root underlying problem, and you’re continuing in life with that and it could allow the problem to become worse over time.

So, guys, if you are taking anti-inflammatory drugs, no need to stop right now.

If it’s helping you get through the day, good, I’m glad that you’re feeling better, but make sure you get on some sort of plan to get off the drugs and solve the back problem for the long term so that you can avoid more drugs and, of course, surgery down the line.

If you know somebody that is taking anti-inflammatory drugs, share this with them.

Have a wonderful day!

Bye bye.