Nature’s Most Powerful Pain Relievers By Dr. Diane Fulton for Green Med Info
GNN Note – We have taking turmeric (Curcumin) daily for more than a year. Joints work better, pain is almost nonexistent, if we get an abrasion it heals very quickly. We also take aloe juice everyday as well and feel confident this is contributing to the overall heal as well, especially with abrasions and joint health. /END
Nature has safe nontoxic answers to the crisis of over-reliance and addiction to pain medications with their known harmful effects
Pain is increasingly a part of everyday life for many people. The use of pain medications, including over the counter and prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen and diclofenac — and opioids — legal ones such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone, fentanyl and methadone or illegal narcotics such as heroin — is escalating to epic proportions.
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More than 96% of all those over the age of 65 have used an NSAID for pain control within the last two weeks.[i] NSAIDs are known to have serious side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers as well as kidney failure and higher cardiovascular risks for strokes and heart attacks.[ii] In England, NSAIDs were associated with 30% of all hospital admissions for preventable adverse drug reactions.[iii]
In 2018, the World Health Organization reported 58 million people worldwide used opioids and overdoses resulted in 350,000 deaths.[iv] According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 450,000 people died from overdoses involving an opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids, to manage their pain from 1999 to 2019 in the U.S. alone.[v]
Nature provides many powerful nondrug pain relievers that are effective alternatives to commonly used pain medicines without the detrimental side effects. The four natural options that follow are most helpful as adjunct treatment to reduce the dose and frequency of NSAID and opioid drug use.
1. Curcumin
Curcumin, the major component in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory properties that make it an ideal pain reliever.[vi]
In fact, 367 primary knee osteoarthritis patients with a pain score of five or higher received either ibuprofen at a dose of 1,200 milligrams (mg) per day or Curcuma domestica (turmeric) extract (1,500 mg per day) for four weeks showing the tumeric group had comparable pain relief benefits to the ibuprofen group but with fewer gastrointestinal adverse events.[vii]
Similarly, in a meta-analysis of eight trials, researchers showed extracts from the Zingiberaceae family, including turmeric and ginger, were as effective in reducing chronic pain as NSAIDs but without the renal risks.[viii]
The effective action of curcumin on neuropathic pain was shown in a mouse model using curcumin doses of 5, 15 or 45 mg per kg, twice per day for three weeks, and as doses increased so did their power to effectively alleviate pain caused by mechanical and thermal stimuli in mice.[ix]
In a formalin-induced orofacial pain model in rats, the analgesic response of curcumin was observed at doses of 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 600 mg per kg administered 15 minutes prior to formalin injection; in the group receiving a low dose of diclofenac (0.2 mg per kg) with curcumin at 25 mg per kg, curcumin increased the power of the lower dose of the NSAID diclofenac.[x]
In an acetic acid pain-induced model of rats, curcumin at 20 and 40 mg per kg produced the same pain reducing effect as the opioid morphine at 1 mg per kg.[xi]
2. Cannabidiol (CBD) Oil
In a review of medical cannabis as a therapy for symptom management in palliative care, there is sufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness and safety of cannabinoids for chronic pain.[xii] Osteoarthritis pain is one of the most common types of pain and scientific evidence shows that cannabinoids are effective pain relievers to fight inflammatory, nociceptive and neuropathic pain modalities found in joint pain.[xiii]
In 11 trials of 1,219 patients with neuropathic pain, those who took cannabinoids versus conventional treatments of pharmaceuticals and/or physical therapy had small reductions in pain scores, improvements in quality of life and increased sleep with no major adverse effects. However, larger studies are needed to clarify the most effective dosage, duration and quality of cannabinoids for pain relief.[xiv]
