Addressing chronic pain

Chronic and recurring Pain

Chronic pain, huge problem for many people. Most people suffering from it haven’t found the right approach yet. I will try to outline a general approach here.

Typical chronic pain treatments are pain killers, which might temporarily relive the issues, but for someone who does not understand where the root cause of the pain is coming from, is not solving the problem, and just kicking the can down the road, leading to possible medication addiction and worsening symptoms, which might lead to questionable surgical procedures. Navigating this space accurately is crucial to proper care and moving forward, but it does require effort on the patients part, and this is a critical point. If the patient is unwilling to make the necessary mindset changes, the protocol will be doomed from the start.

Aside from being in a traumatic accident that breaks, severs or does other severe anatomical damage to bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, vertebral discs, etc… then surgery is generally speaking NOT a good option. Pain killers are Not the best option either, as these just mask the problem, allowing the patient to continue the damaging behaviors that lead to the problem in the first place.

First, try to identify what the root cause of the pain is. This might be difficult at first, but needs to be done correctly. This is essential. Repetitive movements either required from work or other habitual movements like holding to your face for hours WILL have an accumulative effect. Standing or sitting for prolonged times will add up ( it might not be noticeable at first) Workout routines, sports, other leisure activities need to be carefully analyzed to see if these induce the originating problem.

Approach the problem honestly and sincerely, individuals who try to downplay certain activities or actions due to preconceived notions will often not be able to fix their root issue before they fix the mindset first.

After identifying the root problem which leads to the strain, develop a plan to reduce or mitigate the stress accumulation effects of that activity. This is essential. Discretionary activities can be easily adjusted, if the individual is willing. Work mandated activities will be more challenging, as multiple considerations are involved, but ultimately, the trade off between the damage and the gain needs to be honestly assessed.

Mitigation strategies have been available for centuries. You just won’t see anybody promoting it to you because it doesn’t make big money. Eastern medicine has more of less successfully developed multiple strategies to address chronic pain, via several different techniques, acupuncture, acupressure, cupping, scraping, herbal medicine (tailored to the individual - important note). The core of the strategies are all similar, relax muscle tension, revitalize blood flow to the region of muscle that has been restricted. Muscles contract and tighten as a protective function against further damage. This inadvertently leads to restricted blood flow if the muscle is not able to be relaxed properly. Muscular atrophy follows, followed by a decay of all optimal function in the area. This atrophy very often does not manifest as pain, which often leads to it being unaddressed for years or decades. This leads to all types of other problems, including seemingly unrelated problems ( meridians) and possibly permanent loss of function.

Why does acupuncture and acupressure not work for everyone? The main problem is skill. Actually skilled practitioners are difficult to find in certain regions of the world. Unfortunately for the average consumer, finding a skilled practitioner is extremely challenging. If someone comes across 3 unskilled practitioners with little success, they give up on the idea. The secondary problem is Cost, being a profession that is not paid handsomely and requires significant physical effort and energy from the practitioner himself, this profession is grossly undervalued and underpaid, leading to further scarcity. In the united state, 40k to 80k for a surgery paid by insurance to cut someone open, yet no reimbursement for a weekly session that might avoid this surgery all together. Sadly, The health care marketplace does not incentivize the growth of this skill.

Massage parlors, average massage therapists, acupuncture and accupressure practitioners of all skill levels exist. Depending on the problem, some might be able to provide a satisfactory fix, especially for some of the easier issues, or for individuals with less confounding problems. Deeper tissue, multi-area connected, and fine muscles are harder to pinpoint and work with and require more advanced training and knowledge from experience that is much more difficult to find.

Referred Pain.

Pain is often more than just the muscular strain and damage accumulated over time from certain activities. Underlying health is majorly important as well. Referred pain from the liver is a common cause of chronic pain as well. Poor or suboptimal liver function will lead to a multitude of health issues (which are often subclinical in lab tests, therefore show as healthy) including chronic muscle tightness and discomfort, referred pain the right shoulder area or to other regions the body, poor eye health, poor mental capacity, and overall difficulty in maintaining good health.

Basic starter protocol:

1. Identify causes of the pain. Stop those activities to note changes.

2. Try several acupressure and acupuncture clinics- don’t give up too quickly.

3. If pain goes away and comes back quickly, most likely referred pain- address internal issues ( advanced- individualized therapy)

4. Don’t believe one pill wonders. Don’t do surgery lightly.( doesn’t mean these wont work, but its really a dice roll)

As always, remember, protocols are not one size fits all. The person’s individual body type, genetics, epigenetics, diet, lifestyle, mindset all factor into the ultimate outcome. I can not stress this enough. If you need help, reach out.