Hit it Where it Hurts! Read 10 Tips to Help Alleviate the Pain

Did you know that over 100 million adults are affected by chronic pain? Each sufferer has a unique condition that is individual to them so pain management should be tailored on an individual basis.

If you have suffered with chronic pain and have so far not found a suitable resolution, don’t be discouraged as there are many alternative remedies worth investigating. You may have simply not found the right one for you or it might be that you need a combination of solutions, rather than just one.

Below, we look at ten popular options for managing chronic pain which you may consider using for further relief. These are ideal to use alone or together with your existing over-the-counter remedies or prescription medicines:

Acupuncture
It is one of the oldest forms of pain management, long used by eastern medical practitioners. The procedure involves the insertion of tiny needles into various trigger points in the body. The relatively painless process appears to block pain chemicals and release endorphins.

Common uses of acupuncture for treating pain are for the relief of headaches, back pain and tennis elbow.

Biofeedback
Here patients learn to regulate their physiological responses, like tension, temperature, and heart rate, to reduce their pain levels. Biofeedback has been found beneficial in treating back pain and headaches and promotes the use of the mind to improve your health.

Chiropractic
This is done by manipulating a patient’s spine, Chiropractors open up the pathway of nerve transmission from the brain and focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Chiropractic care is a useful remedy for pain in many parts of the body including the neck, arms, legs, joints and back.

Electrical Nerve Stimulation
This is a treatment that uses vibration and low-voltage electrical pulses to stimulate nerves in order to help short-circuit the pain messages relayed to and from the brain.

Also the body produces endorphins which are natural painkillers and effectively block the perception of pain.

Exercise
This may seem like a strange solution however the evidence is significant that regular exercise not only promotes physical health, but can be especially effective in pain management too. The benefit here is increased circulation which delivers more blood and oxygen to your muscles.

Even an exercise as innocent as light walking brings benefits in building back muscle while reducing back pain.

Food
The refrigerator may be a better resource than the medicine cabinet in the battle of chronic pain. Fruits like oranges and cherries, seafood like salmon, and drinks such as coffee have all been found to have therapeutic properties. Not only that but they most certainly taste better than traditional medicines!

Hypnosis
Many patients have found hypnotherapy to be effective in reducing their aches and pains. Through a process of guided imagery, subjects relax and respond to subconscious prompts with seemingly positive results.

With an aim of mind-over-matter, hypnotherapy can be used for chronic pain in any part of the body.

Meditation
You don’t have to a Tibetan monk to feel the benefits of meditation! The process of focused attention, combined with deep breathing has been used since ancient times to reduce pain. Forbes magazine reports that meditation can be even more effective than morphine in treating pain.

Meditating can greatly reduce the sensitivity of pain in all areas of the body.

Massage
It certainly feels good and reportedly makes pain sufferers feel better too. The manipulation of muscles promotes circulation and reduces both swelling and inflammation.

Massaging for pain relief is especially suited to neck, back, leg and arm pains.

Supplements and Vitamins
Your local health food store may be an excellent resource for chronic pain relief. A host of herbs and vitamin supplements have had promising results and more natural remedies are being uncovered and discovered every day.

The renowned Mayo Clinic has found a direct link between Vitamin D and chronic pain management and there are many further studies that support the use of vitamins and minerals in having counter-pain properties.

So there you have it – ten natural alternatives to your traditional prescription medications and over-the-counter pain relievers. While medical prescriptions certainly help to a certain extent with pain relief, it is always good to find new and effective weapons in the war against chronic pain. Using one or a combination of the above with your existing medicines could be the key to fully living a pain-free life once and for all.

Photo Credit: dallasweekly.com
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Jay Trin is a freelance author with over ten years literacy experience writing for a number of popular, bespoke websites and publications worldwide. He holds an HND Diploma from Brighton University and has an unhealthy obsession to travel. His website http://noodu.com is dedicated to providing useful information for pain relief as well as other health and lifestyle tips.