What Supplements do you Recommend for Chronic Low Back and Neck Pain?

Hi Gary,
Could you please advise me on the supplements eg glucosamine etc I need. I am 54 & have chronic lower backache & do get neck ache/tension. 3 mths ago had a lifting injury & MRI showed C6 & 7 disc prolapse pinching on Lt fingers. Had acupuncture/massages, & did not require surgery. Would appreciate yr input.Thank you.
Regards
"F"
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Gary responds:
Your story has familiar patterns with many of the cases that I see in person, so let's make use of that experience. Why does an apparently healthy woman suffer such serious damage doing what was previously innocuous activities? And why is recovery so slow and incomplete?

Soft Body Syndrome
The chronic pain and even the cervical disk damage can be associated with what I call "Soft Body Syndrome" (SBS). It is very common, especially in women as the years pass and is due to a diet that appears healthy but the reality is that she is lacking many nutrients. While youthfulness enables one to get by all it takes is a child or two or a period of forced weight loss, as examples, to throw her into a chronic nutrient crisis.

This may show in many ways including frustrating ailments of the digestive tract, chronic fatigue, depression, underactive thyroid, weight gain, tendonitis, muscle pain, osteoporosis and even disintegration of intervertebral disks.

Where has all the Sunshine gone?
A related close association with a softening body is chronic vitamin D deficiency which is a definite factor in bone, joint and muscle pain, including back pain. Go here for more about this. Vitamin D deficiency, courtesy of "single issue" Cancer Societies and blinkered Health Authorities, is now rampant within Western populations.

Iron Low?
Very often, there is a history of iron deficiency. Unless she has a blood test showing that iron levels are near the high side of healthy, low iron levels must be assumed. Low iron levels will be indicative that many other minerals within the body are equally deficient. This can best be measured with a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis which can be ordered through me.

Not enough Vitamin C?
Weak tissue bruises easily, so a woman who shows bruising from bumping into furniture can be assumed to have SBS to some degree. Lack of vitamin C is another factor along with minerals and vitamin D.

If on a low fat diet, or a diet that is high in processed foods, including processed fats and oils then she will likely be lacking the fat soluble vitamins additional to vitamin D - Vitamins A, E & K. These all make for tissue fragility, including proliferation of spider veins and varicose veins.

Low fat food = The Kiss of Death

Where is the Coenzyme Q-10?
A low fat, carbohydrate based diet that is low in animal prodicts - typical of today - is a sure guarantee for a chronic deficiency in Coenzyme Q-10 which is central to mitochondrial activity which powers cellular metabolism. Mess with your mitochondria and you mess with your life! Early signs of deficiency includes muscle weakness, poor skin, wieght gain, blood pressure problems, tendon pain and so on - all very similar to other nutrient deficiencies such as seen with vitamin D deficiency. You can get quality Coenzyme Q-10 from my web store.

Too little protein
Another factor is protein deficiency. This is very common in women many of whom are on low meat or vegetarian diets. If there is any protein of significance, this tends to be concentrated in one meal meaning that the body may be drawing on reserves within lean tissue for the best part of 20 hours a day. The long term consequence is a gradual loss of tissue strength (SBS).

But I eat very good food every day!
Few women nowadays expend more than 2,000 calories per day. The sad fact of the matter is that even an apparently good diet that supplies 2,000 or less calories per day is sufficient to provide ample of all the nutrients that are necessary for a long and healthy life. While daily exercise workouts is the solution, this is fraught with injury and health risk if she is already deficient and weakened with SBS. It is more prudent to identify and correct any nutrient deficiencies first - then commence the additional exercise. This is all about getting the cart before the horse!

Get healthy - then workout!

You can gather from what I have written there several things you could do immediately. But I would prefer a more measured approach that is much more assured of succeess. Please gather the following information and send it all to me for analysis:

• Get an up to date set of blood tests for general health, including lipids and iron
• Get a blood test for vitamin D
  
• Complete an Active Elements Assessment that you can access from this website
• Obtain a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Kit from me and get the test done
• Supply me with a 24 hour diet recall
• List all health issues and their treatment to date
  
• List all medicines and supplements being taken and their reasons
• Describe your physique, lifestyle, occupation
  

Depending on requirements, a modest fee may be requested to cover my time.

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Will glucosamine help my arthritic low back and relieve back pain?

"Hello Gary, I have just come across your website and I must say its bloody fantastic. I am an age group triathlete (41year female) who last year had diskectomy surgery on my lower back and am now suffering from painful degeneration that has caused me to cut my running right down (replacing with crazy fast walking) and I am finding the swimming painful too.

I have just started taking Glucosamine tablets and am trying hard to not take as many panadol as I am sure it cant be good for me. My goal is to NOT go and have fusion surgery but to still be able to race and train comfortably for as long as I can. I was interested in your u tube piece on the various joint supplements but am now a bit confused as to what I should be taking can you help. I have also been reading many online articles about it and some say its not been proven to work and some say its fantastic, what is your opinion?"
"L"
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Gary Moller comments:
I have been assisting people with low back pain for more years than I care to think about! In many cases, if not most, the pain suffered has only a passing association with the degree of degeneration of the spinal discs. Let me explain what may be going on and why further surgery is a poor option that should only be exercised as an absolute last resort:

OK, you injure your back, irritate it, stir it up for some reason. The immediate protective response is for the muscles about the spine, including the butt, to lock up in spasm. This is a natural casting effect to immobilise the spine while the damage is repaired. Unfortunately, the longer this spasm goes on the greater the possibility of secondary problems developing - chronic muscle weakness, hard gristle and permanent spasm.

When muscles are in spasm, there is little blood flow through them. In order to survive the cells switch to anaerobic mode to cope with the low oxygen environment. This causes a buildup further of toxins in the area which becomes swollen and painful. The toxins cause more spasm, thus setting up a vicious cycle of pain and inflammation that continues well after the original injury has healed (99% of healing is complete within 12 weeks. Exercise may make the pain worse as will sitting and standing without moving. Even sleep may be a problem.

The spine does not like a lack of normal movement and there will be an acceleration of degeneration as a consequence. Not a good look all round!

Let me give an overview of how I help people get over their back pain.
The first step in getting a full recovery is to try to identify any areas of nutritional deficiency because it is a waste of time trying to reduce inflammation, strengthen and mobilise if there is a nutrient deficiency. Exercise will just make the person worse. Each person is different. A person might be deficient in some key minerals. A low fat diet may cause fat soluble vitamin deficiency, the person may be slightly anaemic, etc. Many nutritional factors can contribute to ongoing pain and poor response to exercise. Once these are being dealt with I then introduce deep tissue massage about a week later.

This special form of massage can be most unpleasant initially. It is applied to break muscle spasm and to soften hardened gristle and to shift out metabolic toxins of which there can be several liters.

Gentle stretching can be introduced as can gentle exercise. For guidance about safe exercise for a dodgy spine, there is my book about Back Pain.

Where we go from there depends very much on the person.

Glucosamine?
Yes! Most definitely. It works in most cases when taken in accordance with directions of the manufacturer and for at least 3 months. Your spine is a series of fibrous joints and the same principles of joint nutrition for other joints apply. Chondroitin is most important for the spine since it hydrates discs that tend to dry with age and lack of movement. Add MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) which has a natural anti inflammation effect and builds strong collagen (double-click any words for their meaning). There are other important ingredients for joint health, such as vitamin C. The joint care powders that I favour have these added.

Chronic back pain - spinal decompression and glucosamine

Hello Gary-- I recently came across your website and was pleased to see your article on glucosamine and chondroitin - plus MSM for back pain....I am 33 yrs old and in good shape, but due to my chronic back pain, I have lost enjoyment of life and am really hoping you can guide me in the right direction

I have 2 degenerated/bulging discs now for 13 years at L3 and L4.... i cannot bend forward, twist or many other things I was doing every day....just in the past 3 months it has gotten very bad and have looked into my options......A Dr. here in the states said glucosamine and chondroitin along with 20 treatments on Spinal Decompression would be a great way to relieve my pain, but he wants LOTS of money for this....but I was wondering if you thought the glucosamine and chondroitin and msm alone would be effective w/ out the decompression, and what dosage and I should take......and is there a separate pill for each?? or can i take one that has all three included in one pill

thank you

Brian
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Gary Moller comments:
For an interesting forum about spinal decompression and traction, please go here.

As is obvious from the photos, these computerised machines are pricey to purchase with the consequence that the need to charge big bucks per patient is compelling. Cost appears to be $2-6,000 for a course of about 20 sessions. If you have the money, then give it a go. If money is an issue, I would suggest that you hang onto it. Financial stress, like any form of stress, can make back pain worse. While it may give relief in many cases, I doubt these machines will ever cure a herniated disc and there is little evidence that discs ever heal. Back pain must be managed for life, so it pays to seek ways to set yourself up for ongoing management and there would be few people about who can afford the cost of ongoing courses of spinal decompression.

You might be better off with simple traction devices, like an inversion table, which you own outright for a few hundred dollars and can use for a lifetime. They are also good for general conditioning. I have rigged up a chinup bar in our kitchen. I hang from it like an Orangutan while waiting for the veges to cook. It is a good traction on the low back, straightens the spine, opens up the rib cage and gives you an iron grip! Combine this kind of simple traction with a routine of exercises such as those found in my book on back pain.

A joint nutrition supplement certainly may help. I have used such preparations with occasional dramatic success with herniated discs. It may be that it assists with settling associated problems like an irritated facet joint or two and it certainly makes sense to do anything that strengthens collagen - the substance that holds us together, including what makes up joints (the spine is a series of bone and fibrous joints - collagen). Back problems may throw a lot of stress on other joints like the knees because of all the deep bending, so the joint food may be insurance by helping keep those other joints in good nick.

As far as formulations are concerned, I think you should go for a mix that is made up for you rather than trying to take this or that glucosamine - chondroitin - MSM. I like the powders that are generally much better value than the pills or liquids. Here is the link to my product page for joint food preparations. You could add some daily vitamin C, vitamin E and fish oil to the mix. As with all nutritional support, you can never expect overnight relief. Instead, you are hunkering down for the longterm, just as you are when installing your chinup bar and inversion table.

All the best for the New Year and please let us know how you get on.