Joseph Maroon and Jeffrey Bost work in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's neurological surgery department said, "Such supplements might be a safer alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for some patients with spine-related pain."
The study was conducted on 250 people having nonsurgical neck or back pain with degenerative disc disease.
NSAIDs and Cox-2 inhibitors which re potent painkillers have severe side effects.
Two Cox-2 inhibitors, Vioxx and Bextra, have already been pulled off the market.
