Top remedies for treating chronic pain naturally

As a Chiropractor, I know that without optimum nerve function our body will start to breakdown in any number of ways. Ensuring there is no interference on nerves travelling down the spinal column is my job. This is the first and most important method for treating chronic pain.
Dr. J B Whitlow

Thursday, February 14, 2013 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer naturalnews.com
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039092_chronic_pain_treatment_remedies.html#ixzz2KtCQgPJp

(NaturalNews) Treating chronic pain is a complex issue because there are numerous factors that contribute to its development and persistence. Contrary to popular belief, most instances of chronic pain do not actually originate in the muscles, bones, and tissues, but rather in the nerves, which means eating foods and taking herbs that promote central nervous system health may be the best approach to getting rid of chronic pain for good.

Here are 10 ways to treat chronic pain naturally without drugs:

1) Willow bark. Used for thousands of years in many different cultures to reduce fever and inflammation, willow bark is a powerful painkilling herb that is still used today to treat back pain, arthritis, headaches, and inflammatory conditions like bursitis and tendinitis. The active ingredient in willow bark, salicin, is actually the compound that was first used in the 1800s to develop aspirin. Though it may not work as quickly as aspirin, willow bark is said to provide longer-lasting benefits without the harmful side effects. (http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/willow-bark-000281.htm)

2) Cannabis. Aside from its psychoactive effects, the active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is a powerful analgesic with proven pain-relieving properties. Numerous studies have found that taking cannabis can help ease neurological pain without causing harmful side effects, which makes it a far more promising candidate than what conventional medicine has to offer. And even better than smoking cannabis is juicing its leaves raw, which has been shown to actually reverse chronic pain and illness. (http://www.naturalnews.com/035759_cannabis_juicing_health.html)

3) Turmeric. One of the most powerful known anti-inflammatory herbs, turmeric is virtually unparalleled in its ability to treat arthritis, gout, autoimmune disease, sciatic, and other inflammatory conditions. Systemically, turmeric helps quell disease-causing inflammation in all its forms, and may be the key to overcoming whatever pains might be ailing you.

4) Kava kava. Pacific Islanders have long utilized kava kava, also known as "intoxicating pepper," to unwind and relax after a long day. But this natural botanical is also highly effective at reducing anxiety, easing nerves, relaxing muscles, and subdue pain. Because of its synergistic ability to promote restfulness both mentally and physically, kava kava can be extremely helpful in overcoming chronic pain, especially when such pain has a psychological component. (http://www.konakavafarm.com/articles/alternative.html)

5) Skullcap. An herb native to North America, skullcap has been used for more than 200 years to treat anxiety, nervous tension, convulsions, and pain. And Chinese skullcap, a similar but slightly different herb, has been shown to help treat allergies, infections, inflammation, headaches, and even cancer. Between the two herbs, chronic pain sufferers have a powerful weapon for naturally calming their nerves and relieving pain. (http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/skullcap-000273.htm)

6) Valerian. Often blended with skullcap, Valerian is another natural herb with an extensive history of use in relieving pain. Often used as a sleeping aid due to its ability to promote relaxation, Valerian is also useful for easing anxiety and psychological stress, which are often responsible for causing or exacerbating chronic pain. Valerian can also help treat depression, muscle and joint pain, headaches, and menstrual pain (http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/valerian-000279.htm).

7) Devil's claw. This native African herb is so effective at relieving arthritis, lower back, knee, and hip pain that it has actually been approved as a non-prescription medicine in Germany. Devil's claw has been shown in studies to effectively relieve chronic pain in as little as 10 days of therapeutic use without causing any harmful side effects. Devil's claw can also be used in place of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like acetaminophen and ibuprofen to temporarily relieve pain. (http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/devils-claw-000237.htm)

8) Magnesium. Magnesium comes up a lot as a recommendation in natural treatment protocols, and this is no accident. A powerful treatment for both muscle and nerve pain, magnesium has been shown to balance levels of a brain chemical known as NMDA that is responsible for transmitting pain throughout the nervous system. Magnesium deficiency is also a common cause and amplifier of pain, so simply supplementing with it can help significantly improve pain symptoms. (http://www.psychologytoday.com)

9) SAM-e. A popular dietary supplement for treating osteoarthritis and depression, SAM-e, or S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine, is a compound naturally found in every human cell in the body. Recognized for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic benefits, SAM-e can help ease pain, relieve stiffness, reduce joint swelling, and even rebuild cartilage. SAM-e is also known to help treat fibromyalgia, bursitis, tendinitis, and lower back pain. (http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/alternativetreatments/a/sam-e.htm)

10) Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a host of chronic illnesses, including chronic pain. A 2009 study found that patients deficient in vitamin D require almost twice as much pain medication as patients with adequate levels, illustrating an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and pain. Supplementing with vitamin D and regularly exposing your skin to natural sunlight just might be the remedy you need for overcoming chronic pain. (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/)

Sources for this article include:

http://www.blessedmaineherbs.com/chpare.html

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/stopping-pain-without-drugs/

http://www.rodale.com/natural-fibromyalgia-remedies
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039092_chronic_pain_treatment_remedies.html#ixzz2KtBZqFV

Run Down?
I know! Who isn’t at this time of year?

It seems that this season’s super mild spells then freezing winter weather has exacerbated the number of germs out there in the work place.Too much bacteria hanging around….

So it’s true, we do suffer in the short days of winter from sniffles, tickly coughs, headaches and sore throats. That general feeling of being under the weather is all too common at this time of the year.

What is going on to make us feel ‘run down’?

Like a watch the human body is made of many parts, all of which must be meshed together in perfect co-ordination and balance. We use the term ‘run down’ about a watch when it has no more power or battery, when it is no longer working properly. The mainspring in the watch is what dictates the correctness of the time keeping, when it is wonky who knows what the time is?

So, the brain and spinal cord are the mainspring of the body, the spinal column is the conduit.

Any of one of hundreds of daily occurrences can throw the spine off balance, for instance;

working on a computer all day,
stubbing your toe on the sidewalk,
working in your garden or shoveling snow,
working out at the gym.

Now you know what that can do to a body, don’t you guys?

This can create a subluxation.

A subluxation will ruin your day!

A subluxation is when one or more of the bones of your spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves.

Whether you know it or not, whether you have symptoms or not, your subluxation is interfering with the proper workings of your body and interrupting the smooth running of the masterpiece that is your body.

When we are ‘run down’ it is a symptom that, just like a watch not telling us the correct time, we need ‘adjusting’!

Once your distortion has been corrected by your chiropractor, the freedom of nerve impulses will restore your natural ability to fight off any germs, you’ll be restored!

Having a clear nervous system helps us make the very best of our health and it’s maintenance.

I bet you did not know that one of the most common causes of fatigue is an unbalanced nervous system of which the conduit is the spinal column!

What?

When looking at a body from the side, the ear, shoulder, elbow, hip knee and ankle should all be on the same Coronal Plane. This means that if you dropped a plumb line from your ear all the way to the floor the afore mentioned body parts should all be on that string.

When a spine is out of alignment it can throw the head off the central line creating a situation of forward translation. This means that your head is thrust forward; the result is that instead of your head being balanced over the correct support of the neck it now feels as though it weighs much more than a bowling ball!

Imagine carrying a bowling ball around every waking moment….you can see how the body has every right to feel worn down!

It’s not only your head that can be off-center. Your 24 movable vertebrae, sacrum, hips and pelvis also need proper alignment in order to make efficient use of you spine-energy. A tiny degree of off-centeredness could translate into a massive amount of wasted energy over hours, weeks and months!

Energy flows from our brains down the spinal cord through the spinal nerve root and out to the organs, tissues and to every cell in your body.

A healthy spine and nervous system keep our flow of energy balanced.

Even people who suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have normal amounts of energy in their system. The problem is that the energy is blocked, locked up, unbalanced and therefore not flowing properly.

We eat, we sleep, we drink plenty of water and there is abundant energy within us all the time!

Unfortunately, the natural life energies are blocked, jammed, unbalanced and congested in many people.

If you suffer from fatigue, boredom, tiredness, depression and general lethargy you are in, unfortunately, good company!

Chiropractic care releases the main forms of interference that block our natural life energies. With the proper care to your spine and the removal of neurological interference, the proper flow of energies is unhindered.

I hope that you are able to continue through the rest of the winter that Punxsutawney Phil promised to us, without the general malaise that so often accompanies us in these last weeks of winter.

Good Health is attained through our minds as well as our bodies. Emotional fixations, work problems, relationships, stress, both physical and chemical, all contribute to the picture of health we show to the world.

At least identifying possible areas of problems can then offer solutions.
Visit your chiropractor to see what he can do for your complete picture of health!

Little Choices - BIG RESULTS

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." ~ Steve Jobs

What kind of life changing choices are you making today? Thinking of moving? Getting married? Starting a family? Shall I have a glass of water first thing in the morning? These are HUGE choices and definitely life changing. Yes, even the water thing! Obviously we don’t have to make the dramatic, enormous choices every morning, thank heavens. But other choices that we make even before we leave the house have mega impacts on our lives when taken collectively.

Good little daily choices add up to produce big positive results. 

Because we are in charge of our lives, we get to make the decisions, however we often don't notice the effect.  Drinking an extra cup of coffee a day and one less glass of water a day can lead to dehydration, irritability, nervousness, fatigue, headaches, sometimes on the very same day. But it may be that we don’t know the reason. Having a French pastry each morning for breakfast can result in an extra ten pounds of fat per year, who needs that?  No one in our office! Goodness knows the result of eating half a pint of Hippie ice cream each week …… (always something to celebrate!)

So many things impact our health and just a few simple measures can ease us through each season, try to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning before that coffee. How about stretching before getting out bed?  Protein for breakfast? Yummy and an excellent nutritional start!  Do I put my keys in the same place so I don't run around like a maniac in the morning trying to find them?

“Alice came to a fork in the road. ’Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The daily choices don't often seem significant because we don't project them into the future. 

This is the instant gratification generation!

The choices are small.  They seemingly can't either hurt or help us.  Change is steady, cumulative, not dramatic. The choices we make impact our figures, our pockets and our health. Ergo life-changing!

We often think that we don't have time to do things to become healthy.  "I'd like to exercise, but I don't have the time." is a very common thing that I hear from my patients (and office manager). "My schedule is so hectic; I just don't have time for breakfast."  "I have a membership at the gym but never get there. I'm too tired for that.  I'd rather just collapse when I get home and watch a lame sitcom or reality show.” 

So many little choices! 

We believe that we have to make a big change or a big time commitment in order to get healthy or to become more successful.  It really doesn't have to be something dramatic or earth-shaking. 

For example; after that half pint of hippie ice cream, walk with your coworkers around the block alternating walking backwards, walk up a flight of stairs in the office building instead of taking the elevator, park at the far end of the grocery store or mall car park and speed walk to you car. A series of a few short 10-minute walks can add up to a full hour of walking per day. Squeeze your buttocks together ten times each hour whilst you are sitting at your desk. Try doing it without getting the giggles like someone I know. Keep your back straight and your tummy sucked in whilst working and sit at a chair that allows your bottom to be at the same elevation as your knees.

In like manner, brushing your teeth and flossing twice a day eventually leads to long-term dental health and can increase your lifespan an extra 2-3 years! (Ridding the body of unwanted bacteria)  See? Little choices with big results.

Bottom line.  If you start one or two little health or mindset choices and stay with it, you will see long-term positive effects.  Focus your energy on what is important.  Break it down into little daily choices.  Enjoy the results!

Yours in Health

Dr. J B Whitlow

P.S. Drink water like it’s your job!