7 Natural Effective Alternatives To Pain Relievers

Natural Ways To Reduce Pain Without Pills That Improve Your Health.

So many people are in pain that continues to worsen over time leading to greater problems enjoying their lives and doing the things they want to do and need to do at work and home.

We’ve discussed potential problems with this approach, including potential dangers of over the counter pain relievers in other posts.

Often people get locked into a way of dealing with it that leads to more and more pills, injections, and ultimately surgery.

For so many people, it doesn’t need to be this way.

Often we don’t realize it, but the pain is there to protect us and tell us we need to change.

In so many people, their chronic pain and chronic inflammation are caused by and/or increased by a poor diet, stress, lack of movement/exercise, toxic chemicals, loss of sleep, unknown/unaddressed autoimmunity, and the other parts of our modern life.

Pain is simply body’s way of telling us something is wrong.

It’s important to fix this as early as possible so you don’t suffer long term suffering and increasing damage.

Medications and other medical interventions may be necessary sometimes, however there are many ways to reduce pain without taking drugs.

Here are some things that you can do on your own to reduce your pain and inflammation.

Of course there are individual differences and what is very good for one may not be the right approach for another.

It’s important to note that many of these things will reduce pain for many people while improving health, but it should be noted that underlying musculoskeletal problems must also be addressed in order to correct the underlying problem also. This is what we do as chiropractors.

This is why it’s important to work with an experienced health care practitioner that can help you with these things…

An Anti-Inflammatory Diet.

This is much more important than most realize.

This one thing is critically important for people experiencing ongoing pain and should be the foundation of a pain management plan.

Diet should completely remove foods that cause the immune system to increase pain and inflammation.

Many, actually most, people do very well by removing triggers such as grain and gluten, sugars, processed ‘vegetable’ oils, dairy, and for many that are really having problems… eggs, nightshades, and nuts.

Sleep.

Getting enough sleep ranks right up there with an anti-inflammatory diet for improving pain and inflammation.

The amount of sleep you get changes how much pain you will feel.

Improve your sleep by avoiding electronic media and screen time in the evening, keep a regular bedtime, a regular wake up time, and as alluded to above improve your diet and blood sugar.

Yoga and Meditation.

These practices help quiet the brain and assist the transition from “fight or flight” mode to “rest and digest mode” where our bodies can heal.

Drink Enough Water.

It’s easy to forget to drink water when we’re busy.

We are made primarily of water, and dehydration adds to chronic pain.

It’s generally best to minimize caffeine and alcohol  because they serve as diuretics which increase dehydration.

Exercise.

This is a big one.

We need to mention a couple of important points.

• We will define exercise as deliberate movement that increases muscle and cardiovascular activity above and beyond what you do on a normal basis at work and home. It’s additional exercises that will help your body create a positive adaptation.
• Every single person is different and the appropriate exercises type, frequency, and intensity will vary for you versus someone else. This is where a healthcare practitioner that understands this and movement is very important.
• You may need chiropractic care before getting started to improve musculoskeletal function so you don’t cause further injury.

Exercise can reduce pain and inflammation related to being too sedentary or simply just sitting all day which again is a symptoms of our modern world.

Supplements.

These should be in addition to the changes noted above, not simply taken instead of making the more difficult lifestyle changes noted above.

Different supplements can help in different people.

There is not a one size fits all approach.

What may be great for one person may be harmful for another.

Pain and Inflammation.

Improving pain and chronic pain takes a real commitment to get better.

It means you may very well need to make major diet and lifestyle changes.

The ‘pain‘ of changing these things can help many get their life back.

If you suffer from ongoing, chronic pain and want to know more about how we can help you, please contact our Texarkana Clinic.

Dr. Hagebusch has helped thousands of Texarkana residents get better, recover from pain, chronic pain, and injuries… often when people were told that there was nothing else that could be done.

There’s only one way to know if we can help you at Hagebusch Chiropractic in Texarkana, come see us.

We’re Here To Help!