Many of you reading this article suffer from chronic pain. According to the CDC, 1 out of every 5 Americans, or about 50 million people have some form of chronic pain. Acute pain alerts us to an injury or illness. Pain is your brain’s signal telling you to stop doing the activity that caused the damage or to rest the injured area to allow it to heal. Sometimes, allowing the acute pain time to heal works; however, sometimes the inflamed state doesn’t wholly resolve. This can be due to various reasons including structural abnormalities, chronic infections, or metabolic deficiencies. Chronic pain often persists for months or even longer. When pain becomes chronic, anything that led to that state can keep it going.
There are many natural treatments for chronic, as well as acute pain. Some natural remedies should be on hand in your home remedy cabinet, while other procedures will involve the care and treatment of knowledgeable health professionals. Natural remedies to keep on hand include homeopathic remedies such as Arnica for trauma; this can be both oral pellets or liquid drops and topical gels or creams. Other natural anti-inflammatories include Bellis Perrennis for deep-tissue injuries, Ruta Graviolus for ligament and tendon injuries, or Hypericum for nerve injuries. If used early, these remedies can sometimes keep acute pain from becoming chronic pain.
If an acute injury doesn’t resolve, it could be due to structural damage to the area. You should seek proper diagnosis and treatment from qualified health professionals. Some of the natural approaches to treating pain due to structural damage include chiropractic care, osteopathic care, massage, and others. These hands-on approaches can be helpful in both acute and chronic pain.
Energy-based treatments offer natural approaches to help with both acute and chronic pain. These therapies run the gamut from hands-on healing to devices that employ microcurrents or frequencies that restore proper communication between the cells. Pain or ill health associated with pain correlates with changes in frequencies. Pain is a sign of acute or chronic inflammation, a sign that something has gone awry.
Energy-based treatments work at the energetic or vibrational level. Physical changes are always linked with energetic changes, changes in frequencies. Pain is an aberrant frequency. We can view any disruption in health as a disruption in cellular communication via frequencies. When you correct these abhorrent frequencies, cells can communicate properly and health is restored.
Newcomers to Energy-Based Therapies for Pain (Acute and Chronic)
1. Biomagnetism or Biomagnetic Pair Therapy (BPT). Holistic medicine understands that for your body to function optimally, a proper pH must be maintained. Ideally, our bodies should be slightly alkaline. Less than optimal pH leads to cellular aging, pain, inability to heal correctly, infections, and general ill-health.
A skilled BPT practitioner identifies organs or tissues that are out of normal polarity. Placement of magnets, 1,000 to 4,000 gauss, on Biomagnetic Pairs at select points on the body allows restoration of proper pH. The magnetic field of the applied magnets affect hydrogen ions and thus the pH in the cells and structures. Restoring the proper pH creates an inhospitable environment for pathogens, improving immune function, reducing inflammation, and creating homeostasis. We have seen remarkable results using the concepts of Biomagnetism with our patients.
2. Microcurrent Therapy: New to the United States. An exciting new therapy introduced into the United States is an FDA-cleared Class II Medical Device for treating acute and chronic pain, such as from Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and overuse. Approximately 2″ x 2″ this new device is wearable and can clip to your pocket or clothing.
This technology is composed of several components. There are microcurrent wrist straps which plug into the unit and a phone app connects to a medical cloud. The artificial intelligence of a quantum processor inside assesses which frequencies in your body are out of balance. It then downloads balancing frequencies from the medical cloud to the device. Then these balancing signals are delivered to you via microcurrent wrist straps. This revolutionary unit provides the real-time specific frequencies that you require versus devices that just output set frequencies. You can call our office to experience this new technology.
Traditional Hands-On Natural Therapies for Pain
1. Acupuncture. Acupuncture comes from traditional Chinese medicine and has been used consistently for more than 2,000 years. Acupuncture influences energy channels or meridians that run throughout the entire body. According to traditional Chinese medicine, these energy meridians flow through the body in regular patterns and nourish all the organs and tissues. The flow of energy through these meridians is called Qi (pronounced “chi”). The qi movement helps balance yin and yang (hot or cold properties), balance an excess or deficiency in the body, and nourish the internal organs.
When the flow of the Qi is blocked or constrained, the internal organs and tissues fall out of balance. By needling one of the acupuncture points, the Qi is drawn out through the acupuncture point, unblocking the obstruction, and restoring the proper flow of energy. Recent scientific evidence has confirmed that Acupuncture has a direct and immediate physiological effect. By stimulating the acupuncture points, the nervous system releases chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These chemicals help decrease inflammation, alleviate pain, and trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones that may restore balance to the body’s hormonal system and overall biochemistry. In Western medicine, the newest term for Qi is “bioelectromagnetic energy.” Electromagnetic energy can be quantified, measured, and photographed.
2. Traditional Japanese Reiki. Traditional Japanese Reiki, which differs from Western Reiki, falls into oriental medicine, best termed “energy work.” It can take years of study and practice to become certified as a Japanese Reiki Master; there are few traditional practitioners of Japanese Reiki in the United States.
Traditional Japanese Reiki differs from Western Reiki much as checkers differs from chess. The board (or the patient) is the same, but the pieces and the moves are all different. As with Acupuncture, Traditional Japanese Reiki works on the flow of Qi (or life force). Rather than needles, the Reiki Master uses his or her hands to move, restore, open, and balance Qi’s flow. Qi that doesn’t flow correctly and at the right time can lead to imbalances, which eventually manifest as disease.
State of the Art Equipment That Offers Energy-Based Therapies for Pain
1. Photobiomodulation. Laser therapy, such as a Class IV infrared laser, can rapidly reduce acute and chronic pain resulting from injuries and neuropathic pain. The laser energy is soaked up by the cell’s mitochondria, the energy production centers, resulting in a cascade of healing events.
2. PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy). PEMF can help with pain. Cells hold a charge across their membranes; injury and inflammation can disrupt that charge. PEMF works directly on the charged particles within the cell to reestablish proper membrane potential, resulting in faster healing and pain relief. Even blood is positively affected by PEMF, as microcirculation dramatically increases.
3. BEMER (Pulsed Electromagnetic Energy Regulation). BEMER is a precise and highly effective modulation of amplitude and frequency; the BEMER device is designed to improve circulation, thus allowing our bodies to function correctly. About ¾ of our blood vessels are microvessels and optimal blood flow through these microvessels is necessary for our wellbeing. BEMER applications boost blood flow, thus benefiting the body’s cardiac system, regenerative abilities, and even mental acuity. Without the proper performance of the microvessel circulation, most of our cells are denied the nutrients required to function optimally. In our office, we have used the BEMER to heal injuries, decrease inflammation, aid in detoxification, and help drive nutrients into the cells. We find the BEMER a great complement to our other healing therapies.
Two Unique Therapies We Offer to Help with Pain: HBOT and Neurotherapies
1. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). HBOT is a medical treatment that utilizes oxygen to enhance healing. Patients lay inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber with an oxygen concentration of 100 percent. The hyperbaric technician slowly raises the chamber pressure 1.5 to 2 times the normal atmospheric pressure. Patients breathe concentrated oxygen inside the pressurized chamber, allowing more oxygen to enter the bloodstream and cerebral spinal fluid. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy improves blood flow dramatically, allowing for improved function in the brain and increased stem cell production and circulation. The rise in oxygen concentration facilitates a reduction of inflammation and promotes healing.
Research and our clinic’s experience have shown that HBOT has been useful for people suffering from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), Fibromyalgia, and peripheral neuropathy.
2. Neurotherapies. Your brain tells you that you are experiencing pain. Neurotherapies, including EEG Neurofeedback, Transcranial Magnetic Electrical Stimulation, and Brain Rejuvenation Protocols, heal the injured brain.
Neurofeedback is a specialized therapy where a patient’s brain waves are recorded with an EEG (electroencephalogram). Through a feedback mechanism, the patient can learn how to control the dysregulated brain wave patterns. Further neurotherapies such as Pulsed Magnetic and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation are noninvasive procedures that stimulate nerve cells and help correct imbalances in the brain. Guided by advanced EEG brain mapping, these therapies are used in conjunction with neurofeedback. Also, our TBI and Brain Rejuvenation Protocol help to heal the injured brain. After assessing each case, we create a specific protocol to help with a variety of neurological and psychological states, including pain syndromes such as Fibromyalgia, RSD/CRPS, and peripheral neuropathy.
Conditions Associated with Chronic Pain
1. Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ) (often referred to as TMD) is usually due to malocclusion or disharmonious relationship between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. TMJ is often the cause of headaches, neckaches, shoulder aches, and backaches. TMJ can throw off the whole spinal alignment and even cause knee pain, leg pain, and hip pain. Pain from TMJ can be alleviated by bite adjustment or repositioning of jaws to put them in alignment through orthodontics, appliances, and once in a while with surgery.
2. Root Canals and Jaw Cavitations (holes in the bone that harbor toxins) can cause chronic sinus problems, facial or head pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and much more. Root canals and cavitations can be a source of bacteria and their toxic by-products. They can also interfere with energy meridians and can cause pain in far distant sites from the actual root canal or jaw cavitations. Dental extraction of the root-canaled tooth may be necessary to alleviate pain caused by the tooth. Treating the whole person with various modalities that may include homeopathy, ozone, and Biomagnetic Pair Therapy often resolves the pain without surgical intervention.
3. Fibromyalgia is chronic pain throughout the body. Often hidden infections, toxicities from such things as heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals, mold, and nutrient deficiencies underlie the chronic pain associated with Fibromyalgia. Thus, a whole-body approach is necessary when treating this disorder. Some of these whole-body approaches may include various detoxification protocols, dental evaluation, assessment of nutrient deficiencies, and their correction through supplementation and IV infusions. Hyperbaric Oxygen sessions can also be a powerful tool. Additionally, neurotherapies can help calm down areas of the brain dealing with chronic pain.
4. Lyme Disease. Many people in our area have Lyme Disease and chances are they have been prescribed antibiotics. That may be fine but it may not be enough to keep symptoms at bay. You may find the problems return a few weeks, months, or even years later. This recurring problem happens because the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria (which causes Lyme disease) like to “hideout” in tissues where blood flow and, therefore, oxygen is reduced, such as in connective tissue.
Borrelia has also been found to create biofilms, which are like a walled-in city, and the bacteria can survive there in safety until antibiotics are no longer in the body’s system. Then the Borrelia bacteria will reemerge, causing symptoms of Lyme disease to appear once again. After treatment of the acute phase with antibiotics, Lyme Disease and its co-infections can cause lingering chronic pain in various muscles and joints and other health problems. In addition to specific sophisticated types of blood testing, we employ energetic methods to reveal and treat this often-hidden problem. The numerous modalities we use include homeopathic and botanical medicines, Biomagnetic Pair Therapy, energy-based therapies, Hyperbaric Oxygen, Neurobiofeedback, and specific dietary recommendations based upon testing.
As you can see, there are many natural approaches to treating pain. Pain is often multi-faceted and therefore the resolution of the problem may require a multi-faceted approach.
Dr. Adam Breiner practices naturopathic medicine at Whole-Body Medicine in Fairfield, CT. Patients from Connecticut and surrounding states seek his care for Lyme Disease, Brain Injuries, such as stroke, concussions, TBI, as well as enhanced Brain Performance.
Visit: www.wholebodymed.com or to schedule an appointment call 203-371-8258 ext. 2.
Call now to experience the latest microcurrent device mentioned in this article.