Alternative Treatment Options for Chronic Pain
Hey friends! Today’s episode is all about alternative treatment options for chronic pain management. As I mentioned in the last episode, March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and if you know anything about the disease, then you know that the most commonly associated symptom of Endo is chronic pain, often debilitating pain. So that’s what inspired the thought behind today’s episode, but these treatment options apply to all different types of chronic pain. It’s been estimated that chronic pain affects around 50 million Americans - 20 million of whom have such debilitating pain that it has altered their everyday lives. It has been linked to an increased risk of major mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and PTSD. This is a topic that affects a lot of people and I think it’s important to talk about.
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What is pain? It’s your body communicating to you - trying to tell you that something isn’t right. Listen and treat the cause, don’t just silence the symptom. Often when the pain is chronic, the cause is inflammation of some sort. Other times it’s something like dehydration and occasionally something more serious. Whatever the cause, we want to actually address the root of the issue and not just slap a bandaid on it - especially when some of our most commonly used “bandaids” can end up causing more problems in the long term.
Some of our “go-to” pain relievers can have negative effects on the body, especially when used long-term. Tylenol or acetaminophen can be very hard on the liver because it reduces levels of glutathione in the body, which is the body’s master antioxidant and is very important for neutralizing harmful free radicals, which when left unchecked can cause inflammation and disease. In high doses or chronic use, it can also lead to increased intestinal permeability - which as we know leads to all kinds of other negative health issues, including increased inflammation (which usually equals more pain).
Other common pain relievers such as NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin do actually help to reduce inflammation, but when used often can cause damage to the gut, including negatively affecting the microbiome and creating an imbalance of the good gut bugs vs the opportunistic ones, increasing intestinal permeability, and possibly leading to ulcers, GERD, and sometimes even IBD or colitis.
Opioids are also often prescribed for chronic pain, which in addition to all the same side effects just mentioned can lead to addiction (leading cause of death in people under 50 years old in the US) and major changes in brain chemistry and function. We are in a horrible opioid epidemic in this country and it’s absolutely ruining people’s lives and families. Things have got to change when it comes to first-line of defense when dealing with chronic pain!
So what are some alternative pain management techniques? Here are a few ideas that can not only help manage symptoms but often can help heal the root of the issue altogether. And even better, each of these options works with your body, helping it to function better as opposed to working against it and possibly creating unwanted side effects and new problems to address.
Hands-On Therapies
Acupuncture is great for treating chronic pain (especially Endometriosis - more on that here) by increasing circulation (faster healing) but also thought to stimulate nerves, muscles, and tissue which can help the body release its own pain-relieving hormones and neurotransmitters. It’s been proven effective for pain and general wellness for thousands of years.
Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Care can both help to correct structural issues and treat the root cause of chronic musculoskeletal pain. These modalities work great in conjunction with each other.
Essential Oils
Oils like peppermint, frankincense, lavender, and evening primrose oils all help to reduce inflammation and pain. Using these oils topically (with the proper dilution) can be greatly beneficial for healing and relief as well as diffusing, which can have similar effects, plus help with mental clarity and mood.
CBD
Cannabidiol is one type of cannabinoid from the cannabis (hemp) plant. It is non-psychoactive (it won’t get you high) but has been used (for thousands of years) to help a wide range of health issues, including chronic pain. It helps to reduce inflammation and put your body in a more relaxed state (rest and digest mode) so that it can heal more easily. CBD has also been shown to be a neuroprotective antioxidant - which means it helps to safeguard the health of your brain. It can help reduce anxiety, promote sleep, and even be beneficial for gut health. Do make sure that you get CBD oil from a trusted, verified source that isn’t loaded with additives and extras like sugar, dyes, etc.
Lifestyle changes
Ensuring that we are properly hydrated (water + optimal electrolytes), moving our bodies regularly (increases blood flow and healing), eating anti-inflammatory foods (some faves: leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, pumpkin, berries, bone broth, wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil/milk, walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, green tea, turmeric, ginger, garlic), and prioritizing good sleep (allows for repair and renewal of the body) will all reduce chronic inflammation and promote healing.
Supplements
One of my favorite supplements for pain and inflammation is PRANA by Leefy Organics. It’s a potent combination of turmeric, ginger, and black pepper formulated in a way that allows for max absorption into the bloodstream, making for quick-relief and benefit. It helps lower inflammation, reduces pain, helps with digestive health and brain function.
Another important supplement (food, really) when thinking about inflammation is Bone Broth and Collagen powder. Our health starts in the gut - we can’t ignore it! Bone broth helps to rebuild the gut lining which helps to lower inflammation but also to increase the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and antioxidants, which help your body to be able to optimally create and use pain-relieving neurotransmitters. Both bone broth and collagen can also help with joint health, which can be a common source of chronic pain.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids have also been shown to reduce inflammation, provide proper lubrication for joints, and increases blood flow allowing for faster healing.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a lot of really important roles in the body including helping with circulation and blood pressure, immune system function, nerve and muscle function, and many more. A lot of people are deficient in magnesium, so taking a supplemental form of magnesium (specifically magnesium glycinate) can be really helpful for dealing with muscle soreness and cramps, menstrual cycle pain, headaches and migraines, and even neuropathy.
So as you can see there are a lot of alternatives when it comes to dealing with pain. Am I saying that we should never take an over-the-counter pain reliever ever again- especially for something acute? No! That’s just not realistic. However, what I am saying is that there are many safe and just-as-effective options that we can use as a first-line defense that will actually work with our bodies and help our bodies function optimally without causing negative side effects.
One thing that I try to help my clients think about is that everything we do in relation to our health - everything we eat, everything we take - has an effect on the body both short-term and long-term. Sometimes it’s just easier to look at the short-term because we are so wired for instant gratification, but we can’t forget that these things also affect our bodies long-term. So let’s educate ourselves and consider how something will affect us in 6 months, 1 year, or even 5 years, down the road. I think that principle especially applies when we are deciding how to deal with chronic pain.
