Chronic Discomfort

Overview

Chronic pain is considered to be the most typical health condition in the United States, with nearly 90 million Americans afflicted by chronic pain in some form. Unlike severe pain, which is usually short-term and provides a signal that lets people know they have a health problem in need of their attention, persistent pain tends to be of a continual nature, often lasting 6 months or more, and is not necessarily and indicator of a particular problem.

Examples of chronic discomfort include pain that continues after an injury or wound has healed, and chronic cases of arthritic pain, back pain, as well as muscle ache. Frequent headaches and migraines, as well as certain types of lingering discomfort that impact the body’s neurological system, is also common of chronic pain.

Symptoms

The main physical symptoms of chronic pain is lasting pain or even soreness in any part of the body, chronic stiffness and muscle tension (particularly in the back, neck, or shoulder blades), and/or recurring internal discomfort, such as headaches or intestinal discomfort that does not go away.

Reasons for Chronic Pain

Chronic discomfort is caused by prolonged irritation of nerve endings in your body that act as pain indicators. This lack of nerve endings can be irritated or stimulated by injury, inappropriately applied stress, exposure to excess cold or heat, stress, and wounds. Certain illnesses, including some forms of cancer, can also result in persistent pain. Unresolved emotional or even mental issues can also cause chronic discomfort due to the tension associated with all of them. Our early behavior and understanding patterns can also influence the way you perceive and respond to pain. In addition, pain medications, as well as other forms of pharmaceutical drugs, may also cause pain because of their negative side effects.

Food allergic reactions, inflammation, and a diet that creates an internal acidic pH condition, are also common and significant elements that can trigger or bring about chronic discomfort.

Holistic Method of Chronic Pain

While many traditional doctors often ignore the mental factors related to chronic pain, focusing exclusively on physical pain signs and symptoms, others address a person’s mental and emotional problems first, using the expectation that doing so will resolve, or at best minimize, the associated physical pain. Holistic health practitioners, by comparison, emphasize a treatment protocol that addresses the physical and psychological facets of chronic discomfort equally. Here are a few important things you can do based on this particular holistic approach:

Seek to understand all of the numerous factors, each physical, mental, and emotional that can potentially be contributing to your pain. Focus on how your pain signs and symptoms become triggered or are made worse. For example, if you suffer through back pain, do your signs and symptoms flare up or even worsen due to specific activities? And do you notice the worsening of the symptoms when you become anxious, angry, or find yourself feeling stressed? Understanding how to recognize your own pain triggers can help you develop a plan of action that will help you minimize them or avoid them altogether.

Natural Remedies

Acupuncture: Acupuncture has long been used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine as an effective method for treating persistent pain. Lately, western researchers have discovered that TCM provides comfort and relief in one of two ways. First, acupuncture leads to the brain releasing increased levels of endorphins as well as enkepalins, which act as your body’s own organic pain killers. Elevated endorphin levels have also been found to be associated with feelings of happiness and relaxation which are very important to anyone suffering with pain. Additionally, acupuncture is capable of blocking pain signals generated in the brain. This means that regular pain triggers are not recognized by people who receive acupuncture remedies which results in a diminished level of discomfort. Researchers have learned that acupuncture accomplishes this because the nerve reactions that are triggered by TCM needles (as well as acupuncture massage) are able to get to the brain quicker than pain signals can, thereby shutting the door to them.

Even though hundreds of studies around the world have demonstrated acupuncture’s effectiveness with regard to treating pain for many years, it was not until 1997 that the Nationwide Institutes of Health (NIH) finally recommended acupuncture as a useful discomfort treatment. Among the areas that the NIH now recommends acupuncture for tend to be carpal tunnel pain, tooth pain, nausea caused by chemotherapy, pain that results from surgical operations, and tennis elbow.

Studies have shown that TCM is also impressive for treating arthritis, bursitis, and other inflammatory conditions, as well as headache, migraine headaches, and muscle and skeletal pain. It has also been shown to effectively relieve conditions associated with anxiety and depression caused by chronic pain, and can help those who are addicted to painkillers end their dependency on them.

Aromatherapy: For cases of muscular fatigue related to chronic pain, the essential natural oils clary sage, lavender, marjoram, and rosemary oil can just all be helpful. The fundamental oils of black spice, birch, and ginger are also useful for calming temporary flare-ups of discomfort.

Bodywork and Massage: Massage and other types of bodywork can be extremely effective therapies for reducing chronic discomfort. These types of therapies help relieve chronic muscle tension, which is usually an element of chronic pain. When muscle tissue are chronically tense, the body’s ability to eliminate biochemical waste by-products in the muscles and surrounding tissues becomes compromised, adding to the responsibility of chronic pain. Additionally, tense muscle tissue can cause poor circulation, resulting in increased levels of pain in the nerves as well as musculature that may eventually transfer to other parts of the body. In many cases, localized pain in the body may actually be due to tension and accumulated biochemical waste products in other areas of the body. For instance, chronic discomfort in the wrists can often be because of habitual pressure and muscle stress around the face and neck.

Massage and bodywork help to stimulate the removal of waste accumulation around the muscles and also help to improve overall circulation. Bodywork and therapeutic massage therapists are also skilled in locating stress trigger factors. By rubbing these factors, they can help restore muscle balance, in the process lengthening muscles that were shortened due to pressure, and helping the body to regain its overall symmetry. This, in turn, helps the body’s systems to function far more properly, while at the same time providing relaxation within the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which plays a huge role in the way the body interprets and reacts to discomfort.

Biofeedback Treatment: Biofeedback allows people to become more conscious of exactly how and when they respond to tension. In the process, people who undergo biofeedback therapy can become better able to manage their physical responses, leading to greater emotions of relaxation and reduced overall tension. Biofeedback devices are electronic devices that keep track of a person’s body heat, pulse, and overall levels of muscle tension. Some devices are also capable of monitoring brain wave patterns, too. Often we are not conscious of how we tend to store stress and tension in our bodies. Biofeedback helps people to become aware of these processes and, in doing so, additionally empowers people to gain much better voluntary control over them, producing greater levels of relaxation. Eventually, with practice, people that receive psychophysiological feedback no longer need the devices to be aware of their physiological responses. Instead, they become in a position to recognize them on their own and they become able to regulate as well as change them at will. Research has shown that this ability, once learned through biofeedback therapy, can dramatically alleviate numerous pain conditions.

Chiropractic: Chiropractic care is an excellent treatment for relieving and, oftentimes, eliminating pain caused by pressure in the musculoskeletal system. The reasons why chiropractic care is successful in this area are 5-fold:

Chiropractic care has the capacity to release pressure on the nerves, including pinched nerves.

It also helps to ease compression in important joints.

As a result of a chiropractic realignment, muscles tend to be stretched and restored to their proper length, and tension and muscle spasms caused by constricted muscles are released.

Chiropractic adjustments result in greater elasticity and stability within body tissue and structures, making it a perfect treatment for injuries to these areas of the body.

As the chiropractic care adjustments take hold, you will feel reduction or elimination of pain back and forth between the spine and central nervous system and the corresponding internal organs.

Chiropractic specialists typically assess issues related to a patient’s lifestyle, atmosphere, and mental/emotional factors that may be contributing to his or her pain, providing guidance and self-care workouts that can help calm such affects. Many chiropractic specialists are also skilled nutritionists and will work with patients to determine whether dietary or even nutritional deficiencies are contributing to their problems. Hobbies, work habits, relationship problems, and other issues, such as environmental illness, can also be examined.

According to chiropractic theory, many times discomfort in the body is a result of misalignments in the spine, called subluxations by chiropractors. Subluxation causes stress on the nerves that operate along the length of the brain stem and spinal-cord to impact all of the body’s other systems. When subluxation exists, the communications and impulses of pain to the body’s internal organs can become compromised, resulting in diminished lack of feeling and organ function. In addition, subluxation can cause joints and ligaments also to become out of alignment, resulting in hard and tightened muscles that become much more sensitive and susceptible to discomfort, and chronic spasms.

Detoxification Treatment: Discomfort symptoms in many cases are due to or exacerbated by stored toxins in the body which originate from our environment and/or even the foods we eat. A common supply of toxins is dental amalgam fillings, which are 50% mercury, a highly poisonous substance. With time, mercury vapors escape the fillings to become swallowed and stored in body tissues and internal organs. As toxins build up in the body, eventually the body’s detoxification systems are unable to properly handle them. The end result is that the toxins may become lodged in the body’s tissues and internal organs, causing them to function improperly, to the point where discomfort develops.

Due to our toxic environment, holistic practitioners will often recommend that individuals suffering from persistent pain be tested for toxins. When they are present, an effective course of detoxification therapy is produced by the health specialist. Common personal-treatment methods of detoxing include a natural diet plan, colon cleanses (see Cleansing and Detoxing for more information), juice fasts, dry saunas, as well as enemas. Alternative professional treatment approaches consist of chelation therapy, colonics, environment medicine, and orthomolecular treatments.

Diet: Diet and nutrition are both essential aspects of a treatment plan for persistent pain, just as they are for those other illness conditions. One of the primary reasons for chronic pain, and a significant contributor to many of chronic illness conditions, is inflammation. Inflammation can be the result of a diet that is too acidic, creating an acid pH state that is an ideal breeding ground for the various microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, unwanted organisms, etc.) that may affect our overall health. It is also often caused by allergy symptoms to the meals we consume. Therefore, the dietary goal of anyone suffering from chronic pain should include eating plenty of organic, plant-dependent foods, especially dark, abundant green vegetables that help create an alkaline (non-acidic) state in your body. Eliminating sodas, coffee, milk, and alcoholic beverages and drinking plenty of real, filtered water is also suggested. You should avoid all sugar and simple carbohydrate foods (white bread, pasta, etc.), and focus your diet on non-allergenic foods instead. Also avoid foods that are high in harmful saturated fats. Included in this are dairy products, red meat, hydrogenated oils, and shellfish, as well as margarine and shortenings. Commercial fruit juices should also be avoided, due to their higher sugar content.

The bulk of your diet plan should emphasize organic, raw and gently steamed veggies. Sprouted seeds and nuts are also recommended, as are the majority of fruits (eaten away from other foods), walnuts, and dates. Likewise incorporate organic, free-range poultry and cold-water seafood that is not farm-raised.

Additionally, you will need to figure out if you have any food allergic reactions or breathing difficulties, which many people do. Common allergy-causing foods include wheat, corn, peanuts, soya, tomatoes, shellfish, dairy products, and chocolate, although any foods or meals substance could possibly cause an allergic reaction. Should it be decided that you are allergic to certain foods, you will need to eliminate them from your diet for at least three months, so that you can give your body the opportunity to detoxify as well as replenish itself. After this 3-30 days period, you can reintroduce a few of the foods to which you were sensitive to, one at a time. When they cause absolutely no further reaction, you can begin to incorporate them in your diet again, consuming them a maximum of once every 4-7 days. (A good rule of thumb to follow, no food should be eaten any more frequently than every 4 days. This is known as a rotation diet and can significantly reduce your danger of developing food allergic reactions.)

Energy Medicine: Energy treatments involve utilizing or stimulating the body to heal by interacting with the bioenergy that surrounds all living matter. Power medicine offers two fundamental categories: Dynamic therapies which are similar to the Biblical concept of “laying upon hands,” for example Reiki, Recovery Touch, as well as Therapeutic Touch, all of which may significantly enhance pain signs and symptoms, and which may be taught to patients as a form of self-treatment, as well as being provided by expert energy healers.

Guided Symbolism and Visualization: Guided symbolism and visualization involve the focused charge of creativity to stimulate healing. One of the fastest developing areas in neuro-scientific mind/body medicine, guided imagery and visual images not only enable patients to have more control over their pain signs and symptoms, they can often also allow them to discover underlying psychological and psychological issues associated with their discomfort that must be resolved. Here is a simple and efficient visualization physical exercise you can use to help manage your pain:

Close your eyes as you seat yourself in a comfy chair (you may also perform this particular exercise standing). Take a couple of, deep, calming breaths, removing your awareness from just about all external stimuli. To help you unwind, focus on your breathing as you inhale and exhale. Now imagine your pain appearing before you in your mind’s eye. Allow yourself to see it as it seems to you–for example, if your pain is severe, you might see it as a burning fireplace. Instead of this sensation, understand that you are in charge of this scene and call upon your innate healing abilities to recover your pain. Using the same instance, imagine a downpour of cool, soothing water as it extinguishes the actual painful fire. As the flames are doused, feel the way the pain also lessens. With more experience, simply remembering this physical exercise can help to provide immediate relief of your pain.

Another typical guided symbolism approach to managing pain is to imagine yourself having a dialogue with it. To do this physical exercise, again close your eyes and obtain relaxed mental state. Then imagine your own pain standing before you, letting it take any form that seems most appropriate. Rather than fearing or resenting this, start to take part in a conversation with it, mentally asking it what it is trying to tell you. Via such dialogues, many sufferers who have practiced this exercise have been surprised to discover the actual answers they needed to heal.

A variation of the exercise suggested by mentioned mind/body professional Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the College of Massachusetts Medical Center. He advises patients with discomfort to simply observe their discomfort symptoms as they arise. In doing so, based on research by Dr. Kabat-Zinn, patients become detached from their pain which helps them experience their discomfort differently and less painfully.

Flower Essences: Flower remedies are superb for coping with the psychological issues related to chronic pain, such as anxiousness, depression, despair, anger, as well as hopelessness. Save Remedy is an all-purpose remedy you can use to help deal with any type of disease or pain condition.

Homeopathy: Useful naturopathic remedies for helping to relieve pain symptoms include Arnica, Belladonna, as well as Rhus. Tox. Calendula cream applied topically over painful areas of the body can also be helpful.

Hydrotherapy: Hydrotherapy is the process of using water, ice, steam and alternating between hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Remedies include full body immersion, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, colonic irrigation as well as the application of warm and/or cold compresses. Hydrotherapy is effective with regard to treating an array of conditions and can easily be utilized in the home as part of a self-care program. Numerous Naturopathic Physicians, Physical Therapists and day spas use Hydrotherapy as part of their treatment. We recommend several at-home hydrotherapy remedies. Please seek the advice of an alternative health care practitioner before undergoing these types of procedures to make sure they are right for you.

Hyperthermia: Hyperthermia involves artificially creating fever in the body for the purpose of improving immune performance. Hyperthermia can be a highly effective method of eliminating toxins and heavy metals, as well as infectious bacteria and viruses that can’t survive in elevated body temperatures. We suggest several at-home hyperthermia treatments. Make sure you seek the recommendation of your alternative health care specialist before undergoing these sweat-inducing procedures to make sure they are appropriate for you.

*Purified water is essential for any hydrotherapy and hyperthermia treatment. Remedies involving purified water offer clear instructions and recommendations.

Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy, which is endorsed by the American Medical Association as a pain treatment, works by helping patients master their internal resources for recovery. It also might help patients understand deeply-rooted problems that may be contributing to or causing their pain.

Hypnosis is also extremely effective for resolving the anxiety and worries that can frequently affect patients with chronic pain, and can regularly uncover and resolve past traumas that might be associated with their symptoms. Among the pain conditions that hypnotherapy has been able to treat are abdominal discomfort, back pain, discomfort from burns, pain caused by headaches and migraines, as well as joint pain.

Magnetic Therapy: Magnet therapy has been employed by organic healers for many centuries as a means of reducing and healing pain signs and symptoms. According to William H. Philpott, M.D., one of the world’s top experts in magnet treatment, this type of cure has many uses, one of which is pain relief. Dr. Philpott recommends the negative field produced by magnets and magnetic devices be employed to treat pain because of its ability to quickly and effectively resolve the metabolic dysfunctions that may cause pain. Contrary to public opinion, magnet therapy is not a painkiller in the direct sense. Rather, it disrupts painful metabolic processes, returning the body to a pain-free state.

Magnet therapy may also flood swollen cells and tissues with oxygen, and also shift acidic pH levels to a healthier alkaline state. In addition, it can also coax the body into producing more melatonin and growth hormone, both of which help to stimulate the body’s healing and reparative mechanisms.

Neural Treatment: Neural treatment was developed in Germany in 1985. It involves the use of a local anesthetic, for example lidocaine or even procaine, which is injected into the body to clear out disturbance in the body’s bioelectrical program. In doing so, neural therapy can help to get rid of energy blockages, alleviate chronic pain signs and symptoms, and even heal injuries.

According to German scientists, at least 40% of all persistent pain signs, symptoms, and disease, are directly caused by blockages or even interferences in the body’s bioelectrical network. These types of disturbances produce what are known as disturbance fields. Through injecting local anesthetics into acupuncture pressure points, glands, scars, muscles, and areas of anxiety located along the autonomous central nervous system, practitioners of neural treatment are able to get rid of such disturbances. In the process, cells as well as tissues recuperate their proper bioelectric capabilities, and become better capable of getting rid of stored congested toxins and wastes. In a nutshell, the cells as well as tissues return to normal function, speeding healing and considerably reducing or even eliminating discomfort.

Neural therapy is particularly efficient for treating conditions associated with pain that affect the actual nervous system.

Supplements: In addition to the above dietary measures, the following supplements are also suggested: Vitamin C, vitamin E, evening primrose oil, Ω-3 fish natural oils, and the amino acid DL-phenylalanine, all of which can provide your body with improved pain-fighting capacity, and reduce and prevent inflammation. Acidophilus, bifidobacteria, digestive and proteolytic enzymes, in addition to rice-based protein powders are also helpful. Raw organic whey protein, though hard to locate, can be obtained and can be used as an option to rice-based protein powder.

Alternative Professional Care

These therapies can also be useful for dealing with chronic discomfort: Acupressure, Used Kinesiology, Craniosacral Therapy, Environment Medicine, Thoughts/Body Medicine, Osteopathy, Oxygen Treatment (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy), Prolotherapy, Qigong, Reflexology, Rolfing, Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Trager Work, and Yoga exercise.