Chronic Pain & Headache
Symptoms
We all know what pain is and what it feels like, but chronic pain seems to be endless and often undeserved, meaning you don't know what you did to hurt so badly, so often, and even if you do know why you hurt, it still won't go away. Chronic pain, for most of us, is scary.
Pain is our body's way of telling us there is something wrong. If we did not have pain, we would not know what to avoid and we would constantly be hurting ourselves. Think about it. What is your body trying to tell you to stay clear of, stay away from, get rid of, quit using, start using, give up? Are you listening?
Causes of Chronic Pain
Fibromyalgia, Arthritis or Arthritic type disorders, Toxins, Stress (suppressed or ongoing negative emotions), Injury, Skeletal/Muscular Abnormalities, Poor Posture and Chronic Dehydration.
Spiritual/Psychological causes: Since there are so many various types of pain, there are equally as many causes.
Rheumatoid Arthritis - Feeling burdened, dumped on, squeezed by demands.
Arthritis in the fingers - Feeling victimized, unloved, without a support network in life. These feelings can lead to critical thinking and wanting to point blame.
Osteoporosis - For some reason there isn't enough mental flexibility. Refusal to learn life's lessons or grow in positive ways.
Lower back pain - Lack of support financially, fear over money issues, self-punishment.
Mid-back pain - Guilt and living in the past.
Upper-back pain - Lack of emotional support, withholding of love (yours or theirs).
Neck pain - Stubbornly holding on.
Headaches - Fear and negative self-talk. (See 'Muscular & Migraine Headaches' below.)
Migraines - Feeling rushed, driven by life. Sexual frustration.
Treatments for Chronic Pain
Alternate ice and moist heat (see above in 'Irritable Bladder').
Use a deep heating rub, such as Arnica or Tiger Balm (natural products at health food stores). Celadrin lubricates cell membranes and restores fluids that cushion bones. It is available in capsule or cream form and has no known drug interactions.
Begin doing some exercises for the lower back and abdominal areas. Yoga, Tai Chi, Swimming, Rowing, Cycling and Walking work well for the back. 'Exercises for HSPs' (Highly Sensitive People) are available and designed for improving posture, toning (not building) and relaxing tired muscles. Exercises are illustrated and correspond to your chakra energy centers! Preview now!
Do not golf, lift weights, bowl, play tennis or play contact sports if you have back problems!
Deal with ongoing stress in your relationships and/or at work.
Visit a chiropractor or a massage therapist, or both. See 'Headaches' above.
Vitamins and Supplement Pain Reducers
Always check with your doctor before trying new products.
Even all natural products can cause serious interactions.
Omega-3 Fish Oils help with rhuematoid type pain. 1000-1500 mg per day from algae, fish oil. Do not use Cod Liver Oil.
Chondroitin-1200 mg with Glucosamine-1500 mg divided into 2 doses per day. These two repair cartilage but may affect insulin levels in diabetics. If you are allergic to shellfish, there are vegetarian brands you may take.
Calcium with Vitamin D calms the body. 1000-1200 mg with Magnesium (see below) daily in divided doses throughout the day.
Magnesium Citrate aids Calcium (with Vitamin D also). Take 500 mg. or less. More than 500 mg may cause loose stool or diarrhea.
Manganese (heals cartilage) 2-5 mg Manganese Gluconate daily, separate from calcium.
MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) helps with pain and inflammation. 1-2 grams daily. It is more effective taken with Glucosamine.
Vitamin C - Immune booster and collagen builder. 1000-2000 mg. divided in doses with meals.
Turmeric herb helps with rhuematoid type pain. Take 1200 mg in divided doses, but not if you have Gallstones.
Bromelain - 400 mg twice per day on an empty stomach. Food interferes with the active ingredient.
Emu Oil contains a high level of linolenic acid and oleic acid, which has an anti-inflammatory effect. There are topical oils available to rub onto sore muscles and joints.
Ginger (do not Ginger in combination with anti-acids or blood pressure, blood thinning, heart disease or diabetes medications).
Gelatin is a source of collagen and is a reliable building block for collagen regeneration.
Make sure to include enough fiber in your diet. Constipation causes lower back pain.
Make sure you get enough water on a daily basis. Pain occurs when there is not enough water to flush out toxins and local acidity from the joints. Pain can be your body's cry for water. All joints contain a padding of cartilage between them, which holds a significant amount of water. This is what helps the bones slide over each other as you move. Without the water, There is friction resulting in pain and degeneration. the environment of cartilage is alkaline. When it is dehydrated it becomes acidic. This sensitizes the nerves and causes pain. Chronic pain has two components: local and central nervous system (brain). Local pain might be relieved by pain medications, but brain level pain is not. For more information visit Healthy Christian Living.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Avoid all margarines, vegetable shortenings, all foods made with partially hydrogenated oils of any kind, poly-unsaturated oils and foods containing trans-fatty acids (TFAs). They reduce the ability of enzymes to remove carcinogens, which damage cells. Minimize eating foods that are refined or processed. Increase your intake of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, found in Wild Salmon and cold-water fish. All other fish cause inflammation. Eat plenty of vegetables, some fruits (especially berries) and add herbs such as Ginger and Turmeric to your diet. Do not use Turmeric if you have Gallstones. For more on healthy eating choices, visit 'Eating, Naturally!'.
Inflammation fighting foods are salmon, leafy greens, onions, garlic, collard greens, broccoli, berries and kiwi.
The Auto-Immune Diet
Auto-immune responses can be set off by stress, infection, injury to body tissues or emotional trauma. Use the anti-inflammatory suggestions above, but also eat lower protein in the diet (less red meat), experiment with Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), do regular low-impact aerobic exercise, practice relaxation techniques, such as meditation, and find a support group.
Muscular & Migraine Headaches
Hypoglycemia, Stress, Tension, High Blood Pressure, Allergy to Chocolate, which contains Phenylethylamine (also found in aged cheese), Misalignment of the Spine, as well as regular use of Tylonol. Deferred pain from another part of the body can be experienced as headache pain.
Common Treatments for Headaches
The herb, Feverfew, is supposed to work well for Migraines. So is the vitamin Riboflavin. Take 400 mg per day (ask your doctor first). Avoid chocolate and aged cheese. Add them back into your diet one at a time and watch for symptoms. Have your blood pressure checked. Grocery stores usually have a blood pressure machine you can use for free. Visit your chiropractor. Try acupuncture or massage.
I can get extreme muscle tension headaches. I sometimes tried acetaminophen, to no avail! I have sensitivities and allergies to other pain-killers, which is typical for someone with Fibromyalgia. One night I was about to hug the toilet bowl from being in pain for so long. I'd had a headache all day. I went into the bathroom at 3AM, got a wash cloth, ran the hottest tap water I could over it, squeezed it out and applied it to where it hurt, which was all over. After about 10 minutes, the pain was gone. Since then, every time I feel the pull of a tension headache starting, I grab my washcloth and apply wet heat. It nearly always works! If it doesn't, I do yard work, scrub pots, or the floor, to loosen up tight muscles. Muscles hurt when there is a build up of lactic acid. Sometimes, I use resistance exercise.
Also try deep heat rubs, hot baths and ice packs.
Avoid light. There are times when lying down in the dark for a bit helps. Lying down takes the pressure off the neck (from having to hold up your head) and keeps light from further bothering sensitive eyes. You might roll up a small towel and place it under the curve of your neck for added support. In extreme situations, always see your doctor! Those diagnosed with arthritis, and degenerative disk disease of the neck and spine, often have headaches. These applications work well for arthritis as well.
Eat more chick peas. They contain high amounts of magnesium (relaxes muscles) and tryptophan, the amino acid that soothes anxiety. They also contain mlybdenum, a mineral that helps cleanse the body of headache causing sulfites. Sulfites are food preservatives.
Another thing that can cause headache is dehydration. Not enough water in the body can cause pain and stiffness in joints and cause headache and body pain. Drink enough water every day!
Some Stretches That May Help With Tension Pain
Muscle related headaches are often the cause of a combination of over and under developed muscles derived from poor posture and physical stress. Try this little exercise for muscle headaches every 2-3 hours:
The Clucking Chicken Stretch
Sit up straight in a chair. Place your feet flat on the floor with your hands in your lap. Make sure your shoulders are not hunched. Pretend you are a puppet and the string in your head is being pulled upwards. This will bring you into alignment. Now tuck (slide) your chin back, just a little, without lowering it, as if you were trying to move your face back away from something without bending your neck or moving your shoulders. Imagine you are a chicken clucking! Repeat movement 5 times. Do it again every 2-3 hours.
If it is bad posture has been giving you your headaches, you may feel slightly achy for 12-24 hours until your muscles strengthen. After that, you should feel better and way less achy. Keep doing your exercises and maintain good posture as often as you can think of it, as described above.
The Angel Wing Back & Upper Shoulder Stretch
Sit in the same position as above, shoulders up and straight. Without lowering your shoulders, gently stretch backwards with your shoulders and try to bring your shoulder bones (your angel bones) together. You should feel a slight pull across your chest. Squeeze for 3-5 seconds, relax and repeat 4 more times. Do this every 2-3 hours. Act like an angel stretching your feathers!
'Feel Good' Neck & Shoulder Tension Stretch
Raise your right arm as if you are offering it to help someone cross the street. Cup your right elbow with your left hand. Slowly, gently, pull your right elbow toward your left shoulder or the left side of your body. Hold for a moment and then repeat using your other arm. Try not to twist your body as you perform this stretch. Use only your arms.
Disk Pain Achilles Heel Press
For disk pain in your back, place your finger and your thumb on the depressions of either side of your Achilles tendon (right at the back of your ankle). Press firmly for 30 seconds, relax and then press the other heel in the same fashion. This is a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique and should provide nearly instant relief. There are areas of the foot that can relax other areas of the body. If this interests you, then you might want to check into information on Reflexology.
This exercise reminds me of an Indian wives-tale of how to get rid of a stitch (cramp) in your side. If you bend over and pick up a rock, the cramp will go away.
For more exercises, refer to 'Exercises for HSPS'.
Pain Meditation (not medication)!
Sometimes the reason we are in pain is beyond our control. When, and if, this is the case, you must, at some point, begin to realize and use the knowledge that you are not your pain. You are not your body. You are inside of your body. Your body feels the pain. You cannot. You cannot be touched by pain. Go inside yourself and separate yourself from the pain. Look at it. Then speak with it. Ask pain it what it is trying to tell you. What is it saying?
If All Else Fails, Have a Cry.
Sometimes this helps too! Stress can cause terrible headaches, especially those things, people or situations we would like to avoid. If you are not a crier, it may help to set the mood. Turn off the phone and other distractions. Put on a favorite movie that has a sentimental part that makes you cry, focus on an event in your life that makes you want to cry, or listen to old songs or music that bring tears to your eyes.
All Natural Product Links!
There's a new pain relief method on the market called Infared Light Therapy! For more information about this infared hand held appliance that offers pain relief, visit www.lightrelief.com/info.html.
There is a new product on the market called 'TrueBack'. I do not know of anyone who has tried it, but it may be worth checking out. It is a gadget that has claim to ridding one of back pain by lying down on it. It takes the pressure off of your spinal disks by using just a few minutes each day and customers says they have less back pain and that sciatica disappears. For more information visit 'TrueBack'.
Celadrin is a peppermint scented joint cream containing 7.5% Celadrin. It is paraben-free and adds flexibility to your day. For a free sample visit www.HomeHealthUS.com. (Click on 'Products' and then 'Home Health'.)
Doctors have come up with an all-natural joint relief supplement called Joint MD. It works on joint stiffness, flexibility and function. Visit www.JointMDHealth.com for more information.
May Love & Energy Be Yours!
