Can I Use Placebo Instead Of Ibuprofen?
Ibuprofen is one of the most famous and commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs to treat aches and the body. It grants relief by reducing hormones responsible for pain and swelling in the body. It is so widely used that people have forgotten that it can cause side effects too. Since placebos are becoming popular in treating pain without undesirable side effects, many people inquire if they can use a placebo instead of ibuprofen?
Research-Backed Opinion
According to research on the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and placebo for back pain, ibuprofen proved to bring only slightly more benefit than a placebo. Data from 6,065 patients found that there was not much difference in a patient’s pain relief while using both the treatments. However, patients taking ibuprofen were more likely to develop gastrointestinal problems which are a common side effect of anti-inflammatory drugs. Ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers as well as bleeding, but placebo treatment involves inert pills that have no chemical effect on the body.
Although Ibuprofen was found to reduce pain in some, the difference compared to placebo was not significant enough to be considered important by the researchers. The research concluded that in treating back pains, ibuprofen is only a very tiny bit more beneficial than a placebo. So tiny, that it is not even significant.
Placebos For Pain Relief
The use of placebos in clinical settings is considered unethical by some experts who have hindered the use of placebo as an effective means of pain control. They struggle with the ethical concern of whether to inform a patient the treatment being recommended has no active medicine. Yet recent science has proven that informing patients they are receiving placebo treatments does not necessarily reduce the effect.
It is a fact that placebos can reduce both human and economic costs of pain management. Placebos are described in many different ways but the common is that these are inert, inactive substances, or treatments that generate a placebo effect. A plethora of scientific research has concluded that placebos have analgesic capabilities. They can be effectively used to treat pain. The inertness of this treatment makes free from causing unwanted side effects which is an added benefit. Placebos cost less, have little to no side effects, and are successful in managing pain for a lot of patients. There is no doubt in the fact that placebos can be used as highly powerful pain relievers.
How Placebo Works
Advanced and modern technology has given a better understanding of the neurological system. Brain anatomy and brain function are better understood today. This has made it possible for scientists to understand the placebo effect better. When a patient takes a placebo, with an expectation to achieve pain relief, the brain is observed to activate opioids- the pain management system in the brain. Hormones like endorphins are released which trigger relaxation and result in pain relief. It is noteworthy that drugs like morphine produce the same effects!
What Makes It Successful
The success of the placebo lies not in what the placebo is made of or what kind of treatment is given but the belief that the treatment will work. Initially, it was thought that the placebo effect is successfully generated only if the patients believed they were getting real medicine and not something inactive or chemically inert. Recent studies have shown that placebos can even work when patients are aware they are sham treatments. The driving force of the placebo effect is not ignorance of the patient but his belief!
In conclusion, if a patient believes that the placebo treatment he is taking may heal him and fully indulges in the treatment, then a placebo effect can be triggered. Brain cells are activated, neurotransmitters are released, messages are generated throughout the body and wherever there is pain, calmness and healing take over.