Back to basics

The theme of this year’s BackCare Awareness Week (October 10th- 16th) is managing and preventing back pain at work. And if you are a sufferer you will know only too well what a profound effect back pain can have on your ability to do your job - an estimated 67 million working days are lost each year due to back ache.

 So can you ease the pain? The answer is yes  - there are around 200 different treatments for back pain but what you may not know is that the herbal remedy devil’s claw may also help to bring relief.

Several studies now show that this herbal remedy long favoured by the Kalahari bushman may help to soothe lower back pain. It’s not known exactly how devil’s claw works but its tubers have a number of active chemical compounds that have been studied extensively by scientists. One of the most important are harpagosides which research shows have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.