Managing Chronic Pain Naturally: Insights and Strategies

Pain is the worst.  It's distracting and depressing.  It gets in the way of your best life - or even just a regular life.  

I do believe, however, that pain is also our body's intelligent way of propelling us away from death. 

We know to pay extra attention to that area, so we don't cause further injury. 

Although there IS a time for pain-relieving medication, it's not an ideal long-term solution.  

So what can be done - other than potentially complicated and invasive surgeries or pain meds?  

Actually, lots of things!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, chronic pain is a sign of "Blood Stagnation."  

“tong ze bu tong, tong ze bu tong” (通則不痛，痛則不通).

"with good blood flow, there is no pain; with lack of free flow, there is pain." (roughly)

Here's what can help with Qi and Blood circulation. 

Heat

Cold joints, or even an abdomen or feet that are cool to the touch, mean that the circulation isn't as good as it can be.  

Think about it like this - cold causes things to contract, like ice; heat causes things to expand and flow, like lava. 

To improve circulation, we want warmth.  Cold is the underlying reason why so many people feel more pain in the winter, especially with arthritis. 

Ways to optimize your heat: 

Wear socks or slippers at home; don't go barefoot on a cold floor

Keep a scarf around your neck and shoulders, especially when it's windy or cool, especially indoors with the air conditioning blasting

Don't go to sleep with wet hair

Use moxa - an herbal heat therapy most acupuncturists use; you can also learn how to do it on yourself at home

Avoid iced drinks; drink things room temperature or warm instead

Primal Posture

I learned this method a few years ago out of curiosity.  After some amazing successes of my own (with my "old lady hip" and cranky neck), I highly recommend anyone with chronic pain learn it.  

Primal Posture includes the natural, human movements of standing, sitting, walking, bending, lifting, and even sleeping.  Most people in undeveloped countries use it.  In these areas, all over the world, the incidence of back pain is something like around 3%.  For comparison, it's more like 40-60% in the US.  

Our bodies want to heal and feel better.  The pain you have now is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.  

When you learn about Primal Posture, you slowly and gently coax your hips and spine, including your neck back into a healthier position that allows your body to start to heal.  

Therapeutic Movement

When you go to see a Physical Therapist, you're likely diving into therapeutic movement.  They're specific stretches, exercises, mobilizations, and compression techniques that help enforce the Primal Posture, relieve tense fascia, and strengthen weak areas.  

Example of therapeutic movement include

range of motion exercises

core strengthening

glute activations

pelvic floor balancing

foam rolling

nerve flossing

active stretching 

Let me know if you want to work with me to find the exercises that work the best for your situation.  

Food & Herbs

This is probably the most overlooked category of pain reliever.  Simply what you put into your body can make a huge difference on how everything is working. 

Other than staying away from too much cold or raw food (mentioned above), what else helps?

Gluten Sensitivity 

Gluten is something I constantly see causing issues for many folks.  Especially in cases of fibromyalgia and arthritis.   

Here's how to do a free test for gluten sensitivity at home.  This method works better than the really expensive (and often unreliable) skin-prick or blood allergy tests. 

Simply go 100% off gluten for 3 weeks.  It takes that long for it to be completely out of your blood.  Then have some.  Wait 3-4 days to see if anything flares up.  

Avoid (or drastically reduce) inflammatory foods

sugar, including and especially artificial sweeteners

sodium-based additives

food chemicals and colorings

soy bean and other hydrogenated oils; fried foods

Add in healing foods

bone broth

cruciferous vegetables - lightly cooked, warm broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, brussel sprouts or kale

plenty of fresh water

sea salt

healthy protein sources - grass-fed beef; hormone-free and free-range chicken, eggs; non-farmed fish; raw dairy 

turmeric, ginger, and black pepper - warming spices to invigorate circulation

Acupuncture

The best thing about acupuncture is you just lay back and let the magic happen to you.  Within 5 minutes of the needles going in, you should start to feel subtle changes in your pain levels.  It's all working via the nervous system.  

The needles stimulate nerve pathways that connect to the pain areas.  They temporarily shut down the flight-or-fight type nerves ("sympathetic" nerves) so your circulation improves.  

How do you know if it's working?  

You should notice improvements in your condition within 2 or 3 treatments.  The treatments need to be less than one week apart to start.  As you're improving, you can space the visits further apart.  

If you notice improvements after acupuncture, but the pain returns, that's normal at first.  Each time should be a little bit better for a little bit longer duration. 

If not,

1. Are you always in a cold environment or have what we call "cold damage?"
2. Are you using primal posture?
3. Do you need therapeutic exercise?
4. Is your diet supporting your health? 
5. Sometimes surgery is necessary. 

If there's no change after 4 acupuncture sessions, you'll be referred out for further testing and options.