Pain and Possibility

If you think the idea of morphine and oxycodone combined into one pill sounds a bit like a recipe for disaster, you are not alone. A key government panel voted unanimously last Tuesday against the approval of this powerful new drug, known as Moxduo. 
 
A Nation In Pain 

Perhaps you are one of the 100 million Americans (and that is a conservative estimate) who are in pain on a daily basis.  Chronic pain is a huge problem in our society, and we continue to develop stronger and stronger pain medications to try and help people. These drugs can be life-savers in certain circumstances, but they also have some pretty serious risks associated with them.
 
When talking about chronic pain, the media tends to focus on medication, but this is only a piece of the puzzle.  There are many ways to deal with chronic pain, and people benefit most from an integrated approach. This way looks at you as whole person, and uses a number of different treatments to give you the best results.  It means finding out what works best for you and doing it.  
 
Two of the things that I find work best for people in chronic pain are:
 
Lowering Inflammation

Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury, and it can cause pain and swelling.  When you are in chronic pain, your body may be in a heightened state of inflammation.  It is therefore very important to eat in a way that is decreasing inflammation.  Herbal medicine can also be extremely helpful for lowering inflammation. Click here for an anti-inflammatory smoothie recipe. 
 
Acupuncture

When you have been in pain for a long time, your nervous system can become stuck in a pain cycle.  This means that you continue to experience pain that is disproportional to the damage being done to your tissues. (For example, you had a minor back injury some time ago, yet continue to experience debilitating pain.)  Acupuncture is one of the best things I have seen at breaking this pain cycle.  If you would like to learn more about the physiology of pain, watch this fascinating TED talk by Lorimer Moseley. 
 
So Much More

There are many more techniques that I use in my practice to help people suffering from chronic pain.  If you are interested in learning more about how to use natural medicine to help with chronic pain, please join me at one of my FREE Living Pain Free workshops.