Tramadol

1. See your doctor. A good diagnosis is important. Most back pain resolves on its own, but sometimes it can be a sign of infection, cancer, or other serious illness that needs prompt treatment. Seek help immedi - ately if you have new, severe, or acute nerve symptoms, nerve symptoms that progress or involve both sides, or incontinence or difficulty urinating. Back pain in children should always be evaluated promptly.

2. Follow an artery - opening menu and lifestyle, including a low - fat, vegetarian diet, regular exercise, keeping stress within manageable lim - its, and no smoking, as described in post 2. This is important advice for everyone, but especially for those with back pain. Drawing your nutrition from plant sources not only helps you clear away artery blockages, it also helps keep calcium in your bones.

3. Keep salt use to a minimum in food preparation and at the table, consuming only one to two grams daily. If you have more than two cups of coffee per day, use decaffeinated brands. These steps also help keep calcium where it belongs.

4. Follow a regular exercise program, with the guidance of your physician. Exercise reduces pain, strengthens back muscles, helps open arteries, and protects your bones. Bed rest usually does more harm than good for a sore back.

5. Vitamin Вв (50 - 150 mg per day) and powdered ginger (one - half to one teaspoon per day or one to two grams) may prove useful adjuncts for back pain. If you wish to try 5 - hydroxytryptophan, I recommend doing so under your doctor’s supervision, as it remains experimental at this point.

6. Be cautious about surgery, and always get a second opinion. However, in some cases surgery is essential, particularly when your nerves are damaged, and your doctor will evaluate your symptoms with this in mind.

7. Chiropractic treatments can help. While once dismissed by main - stream medicine, controlled studies have supported the use of chiroprac - tic treatments in selected patients with lower back pain.35,36

8. Simple painkillers, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can be helpful. In general, it is wise to avoid narcotic painkillers in treating back pain. Narcotics have an important place in treating cancer pain, where they are prescribed on an ongoing basis, so withdrawal is not an issue. They are also useful in sickle - cell crises, where they are used briefly. Back pain, however, can be persistent and recurrent, setting the stage for narcotic addiction.

9. Natural progesterone can be used to reverse osteoporosis in women. Transdermal creams, such as Pro - Gest, are most convenient. The normal dose is to use up a two - ounce jar over two to three weeks each month, spreading it on areas of thin skin, then stop until the beginning of the next month.