Chronic Pain

Managing and Treating Chronic Pain in the Back, Neck, Knee and Shoulder

Are you living with chronic pain?

Pain Australia reports that 1 in 5 Australians live with chronic pain. It’s Australia’s third most costly health condition. It destroys more than just money though. Chronic pain is associated with depression, anxiety, loss of enjoyment and even relationship issues.

Mainstream healthcare is not equipped to treat chronic pain effectively

Pain Australia also found that, unless the pain is related to cancer, less than 10% get effective care. There are fewer than 200 pain specialists operating nationwide.

The commonest medical response is to prescribe painkillers, including opioids. But there are growing concerns about this treatment option.

• While opioids work for acute, short-term pain, there’s limited evidence they work for ongoing or chronic conditions.
• Research suggests opioids may even increase sensitivity to pain.
• There’s a risk of addiction, and ongoing use can make treating later conditions less effective. (Source)

Contrast this with the positive results of research into acupuncture for chronic pain management:

• In 2013, Harvard Medical School reported a meta-study showing that for 18,000 patients, ‘overall, acupuncture relieved pain by about 50%‘.
• An updated review published in the Journal of Pain in May 2018 reports that the positive effects of acupuncture ‘appeared to persist for at least 12 months‘.

How does acupuncture treat chronic pain?

Western research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system, endocrine and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and digestive system. While the mechanisms are not fully explained, one suggestion is that the acupuncture process releases your endorphins. Endorphins are hormones known to help manage pain in the human body.

In Eastern tradition, an acupuncture practitioner can locate Ah-shi points (trigger points) throughout your body that are tender to the touch. These are the points that are crying out to be treated. Once blockages are released in those points, the energy in your body will flow better. As a result, your pain tends to subside and over time it may even disappear.

In general, acupuncture treatments release a build-up of tension and energy blockages. If your energy is blocked, you’ll experience some sort of “dis-ease” in the body. If your energy is flowing freely you’ll be more healthy.

Click here for more about how acupuncture works.

Chronic pain is not always just caused by a physical ailment. Sometimes it is associated with energetic, mental, or emotional issues. That’s one reason why standard Western treatments which focus mainly on physical symptoms may not work well.

Combining multiple therapies to relieve chronic pain

A combination of natural alternative healing modalities can be more effective with chronic pain. This more holistic approach addresses and treats emotional, energetic, and mental root causes of the chronic pain, as well as the physical.

Here’s how the modalities relate to specific causes:

• Energetic – Acupuncture
• Physical – Remedial Massage
• Emotional – Theta Healing
• Mental – Mind-Body Connection
• Holistic – Aromatherapy

A fully holistic approach such as Janene offers is great for complex cases. Naturally, results vary from person to person. Some clients who have been “managing” their pain for many years  find they are completely pain-free after a relatively short course of treatment. Others find they have much reduced pain and improved quality of life.

If you’d like a drug-free treatment plan to manage your chronic pain, contact Janene Stevens