Aches and pains are a fact of life. It is impossible to go from infancy to old age without at least an occasional injury. Sometimes the pain may subside after a few days; other times the aches from an old mishap can hamper a person for a lifetime. Whatever the case, we all need some pain relief now and again.
The traditional remedy for minor aches and pains has revolved around treatment with a hot or cold compress and medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen. More serious pains might require treatment with a steroid or cortisone injection. Sometimes, invasive surgery is necessary as well.
Natural Pain Relief Methods
What many pain sufferers may not know, however, is that there are many natural methods of pain relief available. Adding certain foods to your diet can have a significant pain-reducing effect, as can the many proven herbs and supplements available on the market. There also are several alternative therapies that can provide wonderful benefits.
According to Carl Germano, R.D., C.N.S., L.D.N. and William Cabot, M.D., F.A.A.O.S., F.A.A.D.E.P., in Nature's Pain Killers, there are a number of common conditions that can lead to pain. In addition to the bumps and bruises typical of normal life, arthritis, asthma, sprains, carpal syndrome, bursitis, myositis, fibromyalgia, fibrositis and gout are just a few of the possible causes of pain.
In the case of injury, the pain experienced is a result of the healing process, say Germano and Cabot. Following an injury, the body produces swelling in the tissue surrounding the afflicted area. This inflammation, say the authors, "protects us by removing toxins, bacteria, or other foreign matter from the site of the injury so they won't spread throughout the body. Inflammation also helps prepare the injured site for repair. In the process, however, it causes the increased blood flow which results in swelling, heat, redness and pain."
Problem with Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
The standard way to treat this type of pain is with anti-inflammatory drugs. The problem with many of these drugs, say Germano and Cabot, is that they can do as much harm to the body as they do good in alleviating pain and swelling. Among the possible side effects of anti-inflammatory drugs are "nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, vomiting, ulcer disease and bleeding, kidney failure, liver damage, headache, dizziness and anemia," they add.
In Beyond Aspirin, Thomas M. Newmark and Paul Schulick say that there are many herbs and natural supplements that can produce the same anti-inflammatory effects as drugs without many of the side effects. Herbs such as green tea, Chinese goldthread, barberry, turmeric, holy basil, and oregano all contain anti-inflammatory compounds, they say.
Though their names seem to suggest the opposite, devil's claw and stinging nettle also have strong anti-inflammatory properties, according to Germano and Cabot. Supplements such as Pycnogenol, resveratrol, glucosamine, chondroitin, and niacinamide(Vitamin B-3) also are useful, they add.
High Concentrations of Omega-3
In addition to herbs and supplements, there are many foods that can be useful in alleviating pain without the use of drugs. Omega-3 (linolenic) essential fatty acids help to slow the inflammatory process, say Germano and Cabot. " By eating foods that contain high concentrations of omega-3 essential fatty acids such as cold water fish, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseed and hemp oil, one can both ease pain and control swelling.
Another benefit of consuming omega-3 essential fatty acids, say Germano and Cabot, is that the absorption of these acids helps to block the absorption of omega-6 (linoleic) essential fatty acids, which actually help to promote pain and swelling.
The amino acid, trytophan, naturally occurring in foods like turkey, chicken and cheeses, also can help alleviate pain. When consumed with carbohydrates, which help to promote absorption, trytophan can enter the brain, where if is converted to serotonin, a chemical that helps to control pain, say Germano and Cabot.
In Back Pain Bible, Anthony J. Cichoke, D.C., notes that, in addition to physical injury, emotional factors such as stress can cause physical pain to different parts of the body. It is for this reason, he says, that stress relief and promotion of a sense of emotional harmony are vital to pain relief.
Alternative Therapies
Alternative therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure, chiropractic and massage all can have great benefit in pain relief because they promote emotional as well as physical relief, Cichoke says. Germano and Cabot add that relaxation training and self-hypnosis also are effective alternative therapies.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), says Cichoke, is effective in alleviating pain because it treats a whole entity, incorporating the physical body and the mind of the person into one unit and treating them together, rather than as separate elements as in Western medicine. By treating the body and mind as one and the same, TCM addresses the emotional as well as the physical healing necessary to truly ease pain, he says.
A Consumer Bulletin from Whole Foods- March 2001
References:
The Back Pain Bible, by Anthony J. Cichoke, D.C.
Beyond Aspirin, by Thomas M. Newmark and Paul Schulick.
The Natural Way of Healing Chronic Pain, by Teresa Digeronimo, M.Ed.
Nature's Pain Killers, by Carl Germano, R.D., C.N.S., L.D.N., and William Cabot, M.D., F.A.A.O.S., F.A.A.D.E.P.
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