Many people are looking for natural pain management techniques. It allows those suffering from chronic pain to find relief without worrying about the risk of side effects from medication. There are numerous ways to relieve pain naturally including natural medicinals, physical treatments and mental applications.
There are even some new and exciting options for those looking for natural pain management techniques. Whether suffering from a shoulder injury, chronic arthritis, or a recent injury there are ways to help relieve pain without relying on the consistent use of medications. We’ve compiled a list of the best seven to consider, and they may change the way that you think about chronic pain management.
1. Acupuncture: The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture as long been hailed as an excellent choice for pain relief. The procedure is thought to be useful for everything from arthritis pain to helping people quit smoking. Some people find it very effective at helping to reduce pain particularly in the back and neck area. However, not everyone finds acupuncture to be successful, and the cost can be higher than some people are willing to pay. In addition acupuncture can be uncomfortable and some lingering effects from the insertion of multiple tiny needles such as swelling or irritation deters some individuals. Acupuncture still remains very popular amongst natural pain management techniques.
2. Herbal Remedies: There is no question that perhaps the oldest form of natural pain relief is the use of herbal remedies. Herbs can be taken in tea, found in supplements or ingested to take advantage of their potent natural, powerful compounds. Even spices, like turmeric used in everyday cooking, can provide a wealth of pain relieving benefit thanks to natural pain relieving and anti inflammatory properties. Ginger is perhaps one of the most well known, and although today it’s primarily associated with relieving nausea, ginger’s historical uses focused on pain and inflammation relief. Eucommia is another herb that has long been used for treating pain. In ancient Chinese medicine, the bark served as an effective treatment for discomfort related to back injury and other issues related to tissue and ligament damage. Herbal remedies can be very effective pain management techniques however the same powerful compounds that make herbs effective can interact with certain medications and exacerbate health conditions. Further, a lack of regulation can make their use of unsafe. It’s best that the use of herbs or health conditions be discussed with a physician.
3. Stress Relief: It may sound silly, but stress reduction has been shown to help lessen the severity of pain and reduce its recurrence. When the body is under enormous stress whether due to health problems or mental anguish, the body’s ability to keep pain away it is reduced. Relieving stress through meditation, activities like yoga and dietary and lifestyle changes may help to reduce the recurrences of chronic pain. Although stress relieving activities may not be enough to eliminate pain entirely, it’s still an important part of long-term chronic pain management and should be included alongside or in conjunction to other pain management techniques.
4. Cryotherapy: Advanced technology that seems straight out of a sci-fi movie may be one of the most effective pain management techniques for people suffering from chronic, daily, long term, or acute pain. Cryotherapy is a procedure where patients are subjected to extremely cold temperatures via a device called a cryosauna chamber. In the chamber, liquid nitrogen rapidly cools the person’s exterior prompting a rapid internal healing response. Inside the body, a deployment of healing processes takes over which leads to faster repair and quicker pain relief. The procedure in fact has been popularized due to its use by athletes who find that it both speeds recovery time following incredible physical exertion and assists in injury recovery, and this phenomenon in turn explains the rise in its availability. Cryotherapy Toronto based clinics are among some of the most abundant, but it’s available throughout the United States, Australia and some parts of Europe as well. Although becoming more popular due to its role with professional athletes, Cryotherapy’s roots are embedded in arthritis care, and the technology was initially developed to serve as a new competitor amongst natural remedies for rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have shown that those undergoing cryotherapy have experienced reduced pain, minimal to no side effects and long lasting results.
5. Physical Therapy: Physical therapy remains one of the most used techniques for relieving pain. Regular movements coordinated by a trained professional can help ensure that the risk of reinjury is lessened and can lead to greater mobility. For those without an injury, physical therapy can be useful in another way in the form of exercise. It’s incredibly important for those suffering from chronic pain to remain active at safe and healthy levels. Pain reduction can be experienced with regular and recommended activities. These lifestyle changes and commitment to long term well being are not only useful on their own, but even more powerful when combined with other natural pain management techniques.
6. Mental Techniques: Believe it or not, there are some that are able to help make the pain go away just by telling it to go away. That may be a rather rudimentary way to explain some of the conscience based methods people use to help reduce pain, but some simple and easy mind control methods seem to do the trick for some individuals. There are numerous practices to consider including pain splitting, (which refers to mentally dividing intense pain between different parts of the body to reduce severity) mental anesthesia (which is related to imagining numbing agents like novocaine being injected into the painful region) and disassociation (which literally refers to mentally removing the pain from the body). While simple in theory and effective in some people however, mental pain relief (unless it’s related to Whole Body Cryotherapy certainly doesn’t work for everyone and is an unproven alternative treatment method that should not be considered a substitute for medical advice. However, it might be worth considering alongside other methods.
7. Natural Topicals: Although purchasable at the drugstore, there are some topicals that rely on little more than the power of nature to be effective. Creams and rubs containing capsaicin have been used for a very long time, making the use of the traditional medicinal therapy simple and easy (although often quite aromatic). The natural compound that gives peppers their punch can help to temporarily reduce discomfort and it’s used regularly for arthritis pain management, however capsaicin topicals are effective for providing pain relief in many forms. Users find it effective for back and shoulder pain relief, and joint and muscle pain may also be responsive to pain relieving topical solutions. While effective in the short term and inexpensive, the one undeniable problem with natural creams and rubs unfortunately is that they are a very temporary solution and boast no curative properties. However, they are a quick fix if pain becomes severe and can also be useful with other pain management techniques.