7 Natural Alternatives to Traditional Pain Management Methods
When you’re dealing with chronic pain, you’re often willing to try just about anything to make it go away. The problem is that most doctors treat this condition with prescription drugs that come with side effects worse than the pain itself and an unhealthy dose of addiction, too.
Luckily, there are places around the country where you can find natural alternatives to these dangerously dependent traditional methods, such as Oklahoma pain management services. However, if you want to treat your symptoms at home or with lesser-known methods in between your professional care, check out these 7 natural options to the more traditional treatments for pain management.
Less-Common Conservative Pain Management Options
You think you’ve tried everything to manage your pain, but you’re open to suggestions if there are some lesser-known methods that could help. Here are three conservative treatment options that aren’t usually covered by insurance and might not be suggested by your physician.
1. Acupuncture—This ancient Chinese therapy continues to be a first line of defense in Eastern medicine but isn’t as well received in the Western world, where medication still rules supreme. Due to recent studies, more doctors are open to prescribing acupuncture for their chronic pain patients. This treatment works by inserting fine needles into strategic points on the body to stimulate its pain-relief systems.
2. Massage Therapy— Part of conservative care for decades, massage therapy is known to reduce chronic pain by easing muscle tension and optimizing blood flow. Massage therapy is ideal as a treatment for neck, back, and shoulder pain.
3. Medical Marijuana—Gaining traction around the country, medical marijuana remains controversial, but the statistics continue to show that it’s healthier than options like prescription opioids. If you’re considering medical marijuana, talk to your doctor about your health history and how THC or CBD might affect your individual situation.
At-Home Care
While you’re at a professional office receiving treatment, you may feel better. But what happens in between appointments? You spend most of your week at home and need ways to manage the symptoms yourself. These four tried-and-true at-home treatments can help you return to your day without prescription pain meds.
4. Exercise— The last thing you probably feel like doing amid a pain flare-up is to exercise. But this movement, especially when done regularly, could be exactly what you need to remove the pain. Exercise not only releases feel-good endorphins that act as painkillers, but they also reduce inflammation and increase your flexibility and mobility, decreasing the flare-ups you experience.
5. Ice and Heat— Using cold and hot packs is a common pain reduction method, but there’s confusion on when to use which therapy. Ice is effective when you have a fresh injury, such as surgery or pain from an accident. Otherwise, moist heat is best for reducing chronic pain from muscle tension or joint issues.
6. Meditation— Yes, learning how to be still reduces chronic pain by teaching the meditator to focus on the present, relax, and reduce stress. Regular meditation can help decrease flare-ups and control discomfort levels when they occur.
7. Supplements— Natural supplements may also be beneficial to manage your symptoms. For instance, ginger’s natural anti-inflammatory effect reduces pain by decreasing nerve pressure. Turmeric, specifically the curcumin in it, can also reduce inflammation and improve pain symptoms.
Whether you try one or all of these natural alternatives to pain management at a time, you’ll find that your body is designed to respond to treatments other than prescription painkillers. Before you use something that could be dangerously addicting and even deadly, give these natural methods a chance.
