Today's long (but valuable) post from theprincessinthetower.org (see link below) includes video clips and follows on from other recent posts about non-medication treatment options for living with chronic pain. Let's face it, we know there's no cure for neuropathic pain, there are just medications that for some people, can reduce the severity of the symptoms. There is therefore, nothing wrong with trying to find non-chemical options which may end up achieving the same levels of success. If you have found that natural treatment options have worked for you, please let the blog know and share your experiences with other readers.
Jo Malby The Princess in the Tower (No clear date)
Due to the wide variety of conditions that cause chronic pain, some of the following may not be suitable for everyone but always be proactive in your condition and search for relief because it is out there, even if it just takes the edge off, you could find a better quality of life simply through a course of complimentary medicine. Often it is a matter of trial and error to find the right therapy, or indeed therapist, to help you manage your chronic pain. Always listen to your body, be aware of the possibility of a healing crisis and do not be discouraged if you feel worse before you feel better, as this is often the nature of healing. The following is a list of valuable and proven pain-relieving treatments, which have all had positive benefits for many chronic pain patients:
Acupuncture - Long known for its pain-relieving properties, acupuncture also helps you achieve improved immunity and a greater sense of wellbeing. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used to stimulate energy flow, or chi, removing blockages in your meridians, which are like rivers of energy; When a blockage of energy occurs, it is like a dam that backs up the flow and in turn leads to illness. Acupuncture unblocks the dam within a person’s energy system by inserting fine, sterile – and usually disposable – needles a few millimetres into your skin at specific points on the body. This causes surprisingly little, if any, discomfort; you may experience a tingling sensation where the needle is inserted or a brief dull ache, but also a general feeling of the energy moving coupled with deep relaxation.
The physician can determine exactly where the energy is blocked and can then use needles, pressure or cauterisation, either directly at the site of the blockage or through some remote acupuncture point, to unblock it - a little like dynorod. Needles are usually left in place for anything between 10 and 30 minutes and may be rotated or tapped to increase or disperse energy. Occasionally, acupressure points may be stimulated by moxibustion, which is the burning a small cone of dried Chinese herb known as moxa – usually artemesia vulgaris latiflora – close to or on the point to warm, nourish and stimulate weak chi in areas that are cold or painful. Acupuncture also releases endorphins into the body, boosting mood and overall well-being. During treatment, very fine needles are placed in acupuncture points to reduce your symptoms and pain, it is also immensely helpful at balancing fatigue.
Massage Therapy - Releasing tension in the body, stimulating blood flow, relaxing tired muscles and helping relieve pain, massage therapy is hugely popular for patients with a diverse range of conditions from Lupus to CFS, Fibromyalgia to arthritis. Therapeutic massage comes in range of treatments from highly skilled therapists, among their more gentle forms of massage are remedial massage, aromatherapy - which combines the healing power of essential oils and soothing movements - and hot stone massage, which swiftly warms the muscles, bringing fast relief and relaxation. Caution must be taken regarding the intensity, because the pain can be aggravated by massage that is too aggressive. Avoid deep tissue work or stronger forms of body treatment, in case they induce a flare-up.
Restorative/Therapeutic Yoga - This is the most gentle form of yoga about, so gentle in fact, at the beginning the exercises will hardly feel like moving at all, as such tiny movements are employed to begin strengthening patients who have perhaps been bedridden for a prolonged period of time. Restorative Yoga is a restful, passive form of yoga designed to open the body deeply but gently. It promotes deep relaxation, induces a feeling of profound peacefulness and allows the body and mind to move into stillness. It also soothes your central nervous system, leaving you feeling refreshed, rested, and calm.
Cushions, bolsters and yoga belts are used to support your body so that it can release without effort. When supported with props, the body relaxes and opens, releasing tension in the muscles and the mind. Done in sequence, a restorative yoga practice will bring your whole body into a relaxed state, and allow your mind to become quiet and reflective. Yoga nidra practices are often integrated into the class to support relaxation and bring balance to your whole system. Proven to reduce pain in fibromyalgia and chronic back pain, it can also help a variety of other chronic pain conditions. Always check the qualifications of your instructor and be sure to start of very slowly; one on one sessions are preferable simply as the instructor can teach completely aware of your needs and pace.
Restorative yoga turns on the healing relaxation response by combining gentle yoga poses with conscious breathing. Below you will learn four restorative yoga poses that may be practiced on their own or in a sequence and can bring great relief from chronic pain.
Each pose is meant to be held for longer than a few breaths; you can stay in a restorative pose for a few minutes or even longer. The stillness allows the body to drop even the deepest layers of tension. Because the poses use props to support your body, the right support in a pose will make it feel effortless, so your body can fully let go, unlike during more strenuous workouts that so often result in painful flare-ups.
Restorative/Therapeutic Yoga Sequence:
Nesting Pose
Nesting pose creates a sense of security and nurturing. It may also be a position you are comfortable sleeping in, making it an excellent posture to practice to help with insomnia or other difficulty sleeping.
Lie on your side, legs bent and drawn in toward your belly. Rest your head on a pillow, and place a pillow or a bolster between your knees. Rest your arms in whatever position feels most comfortable. If available, another bolster or pillow may be placed behind your back for an extra sense of support.
Rest in the natural rhythm of your breath, observing each inhalation and exhalation as it moves through the body. Take comfort in the simplicity and effortlessness of this action.
Supported Bound Angle Pose
This pose relaxes tension in the belly, chest, and shoulders that otherwise can restrict the breath. Lean a bolster on a block or other support (such as telephone books). Sit in front of the bolster with your legs in a diamond shape.
Place a pillow or a rolled blanket under each outer thigh and knee, making sure that the legs are fully supported without a deep stretch or strain in the knees, legs, or hips. Lean back onto the bolster so that you are supported from the lower back to the back of the head. Rest your arms wherever is most comfortable.
Now notice the whole front of your body relax and gently open as you inhale. Follow this sensation and feel the ease in the front of the body as you breathe.
Supported Backbend PoseSupported backbend is a heart-opening pose that reinforces your desire to embrace life and not let challenges - including pain - separate you from life. This pose also works magic to release chronic tension in the back and shoulders.
Sitting, place a bolster or a stack of pillows or blankets under slightly bent knees. Place one folded pillow or rolled blanket or towel behind you; when you lie back, it should support the upper rib cage, not the lower back. If you need extra support underneath the lower rib cage and lower back, roll a small towel to support the natural curve of the spine. Place a rolled towel or a small blanket to support your head and neck at whatever height is most comfortable.
This pose improves the flow of the breath in the upper chest, rib cage, and belly. Allow yourself to feel this movement as you inhale and exhale. Imagine breathing in and out through your heart center. Visualize the movement of breath from your heart to your lungs as you inhale, and from the lungs back out through the heart center as you exhale.
Supported Forward BendThis pose relaxes the hips and back, unraveling the stress of daily activities on the spine. Hugging a bolster and resting your head on its support provides a natural sense of security and comfort.
Sit cross-legged on the floor. Lean forward onto the support of a sofa, a chair, or a stack of pillows, blankets, or cushions. If you have a bolster, place one end in your lap and the other end on the sofa, the chair, or the stack of support. Rest your head on whatever support is available. If you are using the bolster, you can hug it in any way that feels comfortable, turning your head to the side. Be sure that whatever support you are using is high enough and sturdy enough to support you, without creating strain in the back or hips. If you feel a strong stretch that is uncomfortable to hold, you need more support.
In this pose, the belly, chest, and back all expand and contract with each breath. Feel the movement of the whole torso as you inhale and exhale. Feel your belly and chest gently press into the support of the bolster or pillows as you inhale. Let the sensation of your breath deepen the sensation of being hugged.
These simple relaxation practices will lead you on the path of ending your suffering. Yoga can teach you how to focus your mind to change your experience of physical pain. It can give you back the sense of safety, control, and courage that you need to move past your experience of chronic pain. For more on 'restorative' or 'therapeutic' yoga visit this blog post.
Soft/Meditative Martial Arts - Soft martial arts, such as Tai Chi and Chi Kung, are really moving meditations. Improving your posture, breathing and awareness, they are gentle and calming practices that have been shown to benefit patients with chronic pain and variable illnesses. Being of Taoist ilk, they hinge on the idea that everything is made up of energy, or chi (qi), and through practising tai chi or chi kung - even if bedridden and simply using chi kung meditative or breathing techniques - you can cultivate and store chi, leading to balance and healing, reducing flare-ups and calming an already over-stressed nervous system.Tai Chi and Chi Kung move the blood, therefore they generate energy without much movement or stress on the body, so are ideal for individuals who have some health challenges and cannot do a lot of physical activity, such as aerobic exercise, or even walking. Chi Kung allows everyone who desires improvements in their body to do the movements standing up. sitting or even lying down; and the breathing techniques of Chi Kung allow oxygen to flow deep into the cells, tissues and organs of the body.
If you find it too painful to stand, Tai Chi in a Chair is a great book, click here or for Seated Taiji and Qigong click here. Alternatively, Seated Tai Chi for Arthritis DVD has great exercises. To begin to feel the chi or energy follow these gentle exercises for a beginner (see videos below); a more advanced but still wonderfully gentle exercise routine can be found here: 9 Minute Tai Chi Routine.
Pain Relief and recovery Tai Chi exercise one
Pain Relief and recovery Tai Chi exercise two
Pain Relief and recovery Tai Chi exercise three
http://taichi-europe.com/ Hi my name is John Hine, welcome to Hine Tai Chi. You will find a host of ways to learn Tai Chi and Chi Kung on this site.
The slow and gentle movements of tai chi also open up energy channels, and the rhythmic movements of the muscles, joints, and spine pump energy through the body, thereby flushing out the stagnated chi, replacing it with fresh, oxygenated chi. And Tai Chi can be performed in a sitting position, making it suitable for those in wheelchairs or who's balance is particularly impaired. To find out more about tai chi for people with disabilities, check out this article from Action Online, about tai chi in a chair - As a form of healing exercise, tai chi/chi kung is perfect for those with disabilities, chronic pain and physical limitations. Research has shown that tai chi provides all the benefits of a rigorous workout but, because it is not strenuous, it carries no potentially harmful side effects.
Osteopathy and Chiropractic Treatment - Though the root of the word 'osteopath' means 'bone', osteopaths do not actually treat bones. Rather, they use the bones as levers to improve the condition of other structures in the body like muscles, ligaments, tendons, fascia, and organs. By treating these structures, osteopaths can aid the body’s natural healing ability. Chiropractors, on the other hand, tend to focus on the spine and the alignment of vertebrae as the primary means to relieving pain and tension throughout the body. The spine consists of the vertebrae, which are bone segments that protect the spinal cord, and the individual nerve branches stemming from it. These nerve branches exit between the bones, conveying important messages between the brain and the rest of the body. Because the vertebrae shift and move with everyday activity, they can misalign and interfere with the nerve messages travelling among them. This interference causes problems, and frequently pain, throughout the body.Watsu Aqua Therapy - Watsu is a combination of massage and Shiatsu in warm, 34 degree water, giving a floating massage. This is my utter all-time favourite therapy. It is astonishing how healing Watsu is and on so many levels, helping physically as well as emotionally. With the therapist assisting your buoyancy (and a couple of floats attached), you float comfortably in a large pool of warm water while your muscles are massaged, your joints rotated & mobilized, meridians (energy pathways) stimulated. This combined stimulation and weightlessness produces and incredibly relaxing experience that many describe as being spiritual in nature. This beautifully relaxing and healing therapy can be used for treating stress, chronic back pain, orthopaedic problems, arthritis, sleep disorders, anxiety, CFS, CRPS/RSD, fibromyalgia and many other chronic pain conditions.
What makes Watsu unique is its ability to take the receiver beyond physical relaxation. It produces such deep relaxation that the mind appears to shut down – leaving silence where there is normally continuous activity and noise. It is only when the body and mind are quiet that you can experience complete release of tension. Another wonderful thing about being in warm water, aside from the obvious therapeutic benefits, is that the painful allodynia of RSD/CRPS is massively reduced, leading to much lower pain levels throughout the treatment, and healing benefits that last long afterwards. Watch this wonderful video for more information:
Watsu Aqua Therapy
Watsu Aqua Therapy, provided by Judy Fox - For more information, visit: http://www.watsuaquatherapy.co.uk Receiving Watsu was Jo McDonaldVideo by Anthony Carpendale - http://www.vimeo.com/antcarpendaleMusic by Ochre
Water Therapies ; Aqua Physiotherapy
There are many different water-based physical therapies that studies (and patients) have shown to be very effective with chronic pain and conditions such as fibromyalgia and CRPS. One interesting therapy is Ai Chi. Ai Chi is a water-based total body strengthening and relaxation progression that bridges East and West philosophies, and integrates mental, physical, and spiritual energy. It combines Tai-Chi and Qi Gong concepts with Watsu techniques, and is performed standing in shoulder-depth warm water using a combination of deep breathing and slow, broad movements of the arms, legs, and torso. All thermal aquatic bodywork takes advantage of the waters properties, fostering range of motion while challenging balance (safely) and facilitating core strength and stability. The series of movements in Ai Chi is simple, but effective and becomes meditative when performed repeatedly and coordinated with the breath. The philosophy and breathing in Ai Chi are similar to those of land-based Tai Chi, many of the benefits seen in Tai Chi are applicable to Ai Chi. Many of the Ai Chi benefits come from breathing and exercise, as well as effects related to the relaxed contemplative state.
Jun Konno, ATRIC, creator of Ai Chi, is one of Japan's foremost swimming and fitness consultants and the President of Aqua Dynamics Institute (Japanese chapter of AEA).
Since 1986, he has worked to promote aquatics in Japan and is Chairman of the Executive Committee for Japan's National Aquatic Conference. In the mid-1990s, Konno asked Ruth Sova, MS, president of the Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute and founder of the Aquatic Exercise Association, to help popularize Ai Chi Together with Konno, Sova undertook the project of spreading word about the program globally. They published Ai Chi: Balance, Harmony and Healing in 1999 and developed a certification program.
Read an informative article on Ai Chi here; also the following links talk about the benefits of aqua-based therapies for chronic pain and fibromyalgia:
About Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)
Potential Climate Benefits for fibromyalgia
Study: Effects of Pool-based Exercise in Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)
The Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Global Fibromyalgia Symptomatology
Vitamin D, Sunlight and Health
The Natural Healing Properties Of Marine Environments
Myofascal Release (MFR) - This is advanced body work designed to relieve or reduce pain, restore function and mobility. Working on the fascia or soft/connective tissue that has hardened through living with chronic pain. It is astonishingly healing and very gentle (always speak up if anything causes increased discomfort - this applies to all therapies and treatments). MFR brings about permanent change in the body, so results last longer than more conventional forms of massage treatments. Everyone can benefit from this kind of body work as, over the years, fascia can harden in various places around the body, only adding to your already high discomfort. Particularly helpful for fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions. Always check the credentials of your therapist. Play the following video for a comprehensive description of what MFR is and how it can help heal you, not just physically but emotionally too.
Myofascial Release in Brighton and Hove
Myofascial Release in Brighton and Hove. Steve and Jeanna demonstrate this effective advanced body work explaining how it differs from conventional massage.
Craniosacral Therapy - Craniosacral Therapy works on the spinal fluid and it a variation of osteopathic and chiropractic medicine, where a therapist gently places his/her hands atop your skull and feels for the oscillation frequency - the small degree of movement that the skull bones naturally retain throughout life. This is a subtle motion of the membrane encasing the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and spinal cord down to the sacrum, the bone at the bottom of the spine. The therapist gently manipulates the bones to bring them back into proper alignment. It is said to improve the fluid movement in the systems throughout the body. By doing this, it can enhance many functions: the provision of nutrients to cells; the removal of toxins and waste products from the tissues; the circulation of immune cells; the delivery of fresh blood to organs and tissues; and the movement of cerebral spinal fluid.
It feels almost like a very gentle massage, but is a potent healing therapy for a wide variety of disorders, including chronic pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, learning disabilities, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, vertigo, whiplash injury, TMJ, herniated disc pain and musculoskeletal problems. While surprising and somewhat inexplicable, even many skeptics acknowledge that "sometimes it just works."
More Natural Ways to Ease Your Pain to Follow...
For videos and information on various complimentary therapies, follow theselinks:
Acupuncture
Osteopathy
Sports Massage
Hot Stone Massage
Hot Lava Shells Massage
Aromatherapy Massage
Indian Head Massage
Reflexology
Natural Facial
Thai Massage
Personal Yoga
Deep tissue Massage
Myofascial Release
http://www.theprincessinthetower.org/Natural-Ways-to-Ease-Pain.html
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