Chronic pain can arise for many reasons - inflammation, tissue damage due to arthritis, nerve damage, and many others. In many cases, the tissue has healed, yet the pain continues. I have seen x-rays and MRIs of patients with severely damaged joints, but no pain, and the research agrees: Studies have repeatedly shown us that disc degeneration is present in most of the adult population, and you can’t tell who is experiencing pain just by looking at an MRI.
Chronic pain is not a simple problem. It requires a comprehensive, individualized solution.
Chronic pain is almost always a complex problem that needs to be addressed on many levels. Naturopathic medicine offers a holistic solution to address chronic pain. Because everyone’s experience and condition is different, treatment plans will vary greatly. Below are some of the factors we address to help you live pain-free:
Nutrition: This is foundational. Inflammatory foods, food sensitivities, nutritional deficiencies can all severely influence pain.
Sleep: Pain = Difficulty sleeping = Sleep disruption = More pain. Improved sleep is a side effect of some of the techniques that follow.
Movement: The body needs to get comfortable and feel safe at its normal ranges of motion and the only way to do this is to move. Repeatedly studies show that being sedentary increases pain levels and exercise (provided it is an appropriate type) is helpful.
Medication: Certain medications can actually promote chronic pain, including common medications that are taken for pain relief.
Chronic infections: Activate inflammatory pathways in the body and nervous system. These can range from imbalances in gut flora to latent viruses such as EBV and CMV.
Muscle abnormalities: Incredibly common, often misdiagnosed. Muscles have a very rich nerve supply, and they can be full of myofascial trigger points, which are very, very painful when activated. They also produce a referral pattern, which may be confused for nerve pain. An excellent way to relieve trigger points is intramuscular stimulation (IMS) [link to myself].
Stress: Puts the body into a state of fight or flight. Studies have shown that people in chronic pain generally have higher cortisol levels then their healthy counterparts, which contribute to a more sensitized nervous system. Many studies have shown that managing stress is an integral part of eliminating chronic pain.
Hormones: Imbalances in thyroid hormone, estrogen, progesterone and cortisol can perpetuate chronic pain.
Emotions: Depression, anxiety, fear and anger all contribute to feeling more pain. This can also become a vicious cycle and is important to address head-on. Working with mindfulness, breathing techniques, changing negative thought patterns and healing deeper emotional triggers can be incredibly beneficial, especially if the pain has been a problem for a year or longer.
Hypnosis: Many studies have demonstrated consistent decreases of pain in regards to chronic pain problems. Most interventions involve instructions in self-hypnosis. The studies looked at cancer pain, low back pain, arthritic pain, fibromyalgia, TMJ pain, disability related pain and several others.
Acupuncture: A meta-analysis in 2015 in JAMA looked at studies including 18,000 patients and concluded that acupuncture is effective at treating chronic pain. It triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers; affects part of the brain that regulates mood; it is also neuroregenerative and stimulates the body’s intrinsic healing capabilities.