Posts Tagged ‘chronic pain’

Fibromyalgia patients need more than pharmaceuticals. What is needed is a solution, and the only way to find it means knowing the cause. If there ever was a condition crying our for a natural solution this is it.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a condition that has a profound impact on one’s life. The range of symptoms are so great than everyday living becomes a chore. From constant pain, interrupted sleep, fatigue, sore muscles, headaches, irritable bowel, anxiety and depression the condition is takes away any feeling of well being.

The fact that this is diagnosed in females aged 20 to 50 years of age doesn’t help. Until the pharmaceutical companies found a drug for this condition, most doctors thought of it as either a psychological problem or an imagined one. Now, it has an official diagnosis, which requires that there are a certain number of designated tender points that are extremely sensitive to pressure induced pain.

Pharmaceutical Solution

Pharmaceutical solutions can be anything from antidepressants, painkillers and anticonvulsants. Lyrica is an anticonvulsant and the first medication approved by the FDA  specifically for fibromyalgia. The list of medications for this condition has become quite long. Cymbalta and Effexor Cymbalta and antidepressant approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia pain, Paxil and Zoloft for sleep, wellbeing and pain relief. Elavil and other trycyclin antidepressants are often prescribed. This has side effects such as weight gain, dizziness and fatigue.

With all these drugs complete relief from the pain isn’t always possible. That is why the natural route seems a good way to find a solution.

Natural Approach

There are ways to restore normal function. Emerging evidence is being to see fibromyalgia as a metabolic condition. One of the areas being look at is how this condition is tied to low thyroid function. The evidence is pointing in that direction. Right off the bat there can are some overlapping symptoms that makes this well worth looking into. More women that men suffer from both hypothyroidism and fibromayalgia. The fibromyalgia symptoms are usually more severe, but they both create havoc in the patients life. From fatigue, depression, digestive issue and muscle weakness both conditions are debilitating.

Vitamin D Deficiency

There is a link between fibromyalgia and vitamin D deficiency. Muscular pain and weakness can be a sign of a vitamin D deficiency. What studies show is that Fibromyalgia sufferers have deficiencies of calcium and serotonin. These contribute to the depression, since vitamin D helps create serotonin, the feel good hormone, this vitamin is extremely important. Serotonin helps you sleep better, and reduces grain fog, depression and anxiety.

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which helps your muscles relax. The Mayo Clinic has identified a relationship between low levels of vitamin D and chronic pain.

Ribose Supplementation

D-Ribose is a 5-carbon sugar (unlike 6-carbon glucose sugar), directly involved in the production of “ATP”. The body uses this sugar for energy production. Many patients that supplement with D-Ribrose have experience significant improvement. This is especially true in muscle strength. Patient’s with fibro reach the anaerobic threshold in their muscles earlier. Their muscles get tired faster and are using less of the available energy. Ribrose increases the muscles energy pool which reduces the metabolic strain in affected muscles. This allows the patient to resume activities that tired them out before.

Restoring Health

The way to restore your health naturally, means seeing that you aren’t deficient in either nutrients or hormones. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a powerful antioxidant, which helps restore energy in the form of adenosine triphospate (ATP). This is deficient in people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Physical activity provides some pain relief along with improved sleep. There are many people that see benefits of a diet consisting of vegetable juicing, fruits, seeds, and barley grass juice. A whole food diet is essential to healing.

The one modality I don’t want to leave out is Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care. Many patients were able to resume their full activities after treatment.

Back pain myths are so numerous, that identifying the cause of pain is difficult. The hazards of not using the right strategies for coping with relentless back aches can leave you dependent on pain pills.

Relief for back pain                   

When you are looking fro relief for low back pain the choices aren’t always clear.

Traditional ways are chiropractic care, anti-inflammatory agents, and surgery. Then there are osteopathic doctors, physical therapy, and acupuncture.

Many times none of the above provides relief. Since, it is estimated that 80% of the population will experience lower back pain sometime in their life, better treatments are needed.

Upper Cervical Chiropractics

Upper cervical chiropractics pick up the slack. This isn’t an ancillary treatment. It has become the primary vehicle for relief of low back pain. This is the real deal for one simple reason, you participate in the healing. All results come from your body in action.

We will present a series of videos that will give you an idea of the range of conditions that are helped by these treatments. This video explains what upper cervical chiropractic care can accomplish in a clear concise way.

I have experience the benefits of upper cervical corrections, and will talk about it in upcoming articles.

Pain amplification syndrome is a condition that develops when the nervous system gets used to carrying pain signals and continues to after the cause of the pain is gone. Pain signals can become embedded in the spinal cord, as a painful memory. Trauma turns on pain signals, which alert us and at the same time mobilizes our internal resources. Once the trauma is resolved, the alarm goes off, no more pain. When the alarm does not go off, a loop is created between the nervous system and the brain. The nerves keep firing and send electrochemical signals to the brain and they are interpreted as pain. The longer the loop continues, the stronger the pain signals are amplified.

Pain amplification syndrome has increased significantly over the last 10 years. The numbers of adults with pain amplification syndrome have become the third-largest patient group in specialized rheumatology clinics. Part of the reason is there is more rheumatology patients. Twenty percent of persons in the general population have something identified as chronic regional pain.

Allopathic medicine uses drug treatment to decrease inflammation and reduce pain by blocking inflammatory mediators. Drugs known as analgesics can be a useful short term solution, but chronic pain is something that is on- going. Long-term side-effects of drugs can include stomach bleeding, bone demineralization, kidney damage and even nutritional deficiencies.

Natural pain remedies are often as effective as drugs, but without the side-effects. These painkillers include food choices, supplements, phytonutrients, herbs and homeopathic remedies. Let’s explore a non-drug approach to pain. The pain amplification syndrome cannot exist without your brain’s perception of it. There are a few things to do, one is to increase the pain blocking chemicals in the brain. Complementary medical therapy approaches are acupuncture, naturopathic remedies, diet, craniosacral therapy, and reflexology.

Inflammation plays a role, and can cause pain. A good diet reduces the body’s inflammatory response. Whole foods such as legumes and vegetables should be a large part of your diet. Essential fatty acids, Omega-3 fish oils, and flax seeds reduce arthritic pain. Omega-6 fatty acid from whole food sources such as nuts and seeds. Evening primrose may work to reduce inflammation in a way that is similar to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Vitamins B3, B6, and C, and certain minerals such as biotin, zinc, and magnesium are essential.

Pain is a signal that your body is out of balance. It is the job of any healer to help your body reach equilibrium, equilibrium can not be bought with a pill. If anything pharmaceuticals that are taken over an extended period with interfere with that process.  

There is a new technology that we will be talking about at yourhealthupdates.com that is capable of firing up the cylinders to power up every cell in your body. This is how you help heal from chronic pain, and the conditions that accompany it.  Stay tuned so you can energize for wellness, and see the future of healing.