| Abstrakt: |
Interest in botanical medicine is steadily growing in the United States. When compared to all other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices, the greatest relative increase in the United States between 1997 and 2002 was for botanical medicine. Many of the top-selling herbs in the Uniteds States have been subjected to clinical trials in Europe and are recognized for numerous health conditions by authoritative groups such as the World Health Organization, The European Scientific Cooperative on Phytomedicine and the German Commission E. Their growing popularity has spurred research inquiries into their potential benefits, as well as concerns over product quality, long-term safety, herb-drug interactions, and use in specific populations (e.g., pediatrics, pregnancy). The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Office of Dietary Supplements are focusing considerable time and money on botanical research. Surveys indicate that CAM use is high in patients with chronic pain conditions, and back pain, in particular, is the single most common condition for which Americans use CAM. There is a great deal of historical evidence that reveals the extensive use of botanicals for the relief of pain. Plants with analgesic, anti-inflammatory and/or anti-spasmodic activities were widely employed and continue to be used. This chapter reviews the current data on botanical medicines that may be useful in the management of various painful conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
