Thursday, August 16, 2012

How to Treat Chronic Pain

While people of any age can experience pain, as we grow older we are even more likely to experience chronic pain.  It may be back pain, migraine headaches, neck and shoulder pain, or overall pain.  The pain can be caused by a variety of reasons, including overly aggressive exercise and health problems. 

Often we simply reach for the nearest over-the-counter NSAID pain reliever, such as Tylenol or Aleve, and hope that these pain relief pills will help us to feel better in the morning. 

Dr. Oz Alternative Treatments for Chronic Pain

If you develop chronic pain and you do not want to take pills every day for it, you may want to try some of these alternative treatments that recently were mentioned on The Doctor Oz Show.  For more information about them, you can get detailed information at DoctorOz.com.

The first of the pain solutions that Dr. Oz mentions on his website is called Gua Sha.  This treatment for back pain is provided by a licensed acupuncturist and involves scraping the skin's surface with a special instrument.

Although Dr. Oz did not mention in this article the advantages of getting a traditional acupuncture treatment using needles, I personally used this ancient treatment when I developed a stiff neck a few years ago.  It worked surprisingly well, and the beneficial effect has remained, despite the fact that it has been over four years since I last saw the acupuncturist.

The second pain management technique suggested by Doctor Oz was botox for migraines.  Botox is a powerful muscle relaxant and can be effective at relieving tension in the forehead and neck.  Many women who have had botox to reduce their wrinkles have also experienced the pleasant side effect of fewer migraine headaches.

The third pain reliever mentioned by Doctor Oz was HVLA.  This is similar to chiropractic manipulation, but it is performed by an osteopathic doctor.  Again, although Dr. Oz did not mention seeing a chiropractor, members of my family have been very happy with the pain relief they have received from chiropractic manipulation.

The next method of pain management that he mentions on his website is called Radiofrequency Ablation, which uses a radio wave to treat pain anywhere in the body, including the back, neck and even your feet!  If you suffer from overall pain, and you cannot get relief any other way, you might ask your family doctor to recommend someone who is trained to do Radiofrequency Ablation.

Dr. Oz also recommended some cheap treatments for chronic pain that cost less than $10.  His list included:

Helichrysum Oil - available from health food stores
Hot and Cold Packs
Medicated herbal plasters

He also suggested that people use a telephone headset, rather than cradling a phone on their shoulders, which is apparently a common cause of neck and shoulder pain.

Since so many of us suffer from chronic pain, it is important to stay up-to-date with alternative treatments, especially any new treatments or unusual ones.  There is no reason to suffer unnecessarily.  If we can relieve our chronic pain, even a little, it will improve our quality of life, and keep us much more active after retirement.  It is not much fun to quit working, only to discover that pain keeps us from doing many of things that we had anticipated being able to do after retirement.

If you are interested in learning more about medical issues that can affect us as we age, financial planning, where to retire, or changing family relationships, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles. 

You may also be interested in reading:

How to Prevent Bone Loss from Osteoporosis
Brain Activities to Lower Alzheimers Risk
Natural Cures to Stop Snoring
Your Medication May Be Causing Your Depression

To read more about Dr. Oz's recommendations for pain relief, the link to his article is:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/best-solutions-your-pain?page=3#copy

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

4 comments:

  1. I don't get to watch Dr. Oz so thank you for sharing all these interesting treatments here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pain Management Doctors In PA is a solace for those who suffer some chronic illness. You can even get relief from cancer pain from this clinic.
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  3. I agree acupuncture is one of the best treatments to reduce chronic pain. We can get complete relief through it.back and neck pain bergen county

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  4. Great Blog!!!! Nice informative content,Acupuncture promotes natural healing.It is a safe, painless and effective way to treat a wide variety of medical problems.
    Acupuncture in Columbia MD

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