Pain is a natural human experience, and it's not a pleasant one. As soon as we experience pain our next thought is "how can I stop it?"
In our search for some relief, why not turn to nature to try to alleviate some or all of the pain with natural relief? Essential oils, herbs, mental techniques, acupuncture and heat are all common and often cheap alternatives to drugs.Before we delve into these natural solutions to treat pain, it's important to know the reason for the pain. Most of these natural alternatives are great for people who have already sought out medical help, and found there is either no "known cause" of the painful symptoms or the cause is untreatable and they are in a situation of managing the pain.
If the pain is acute (it just came on recently), it's something new, its getting worse and/or changing location to usual then it's important to seek medical advice. Visit your GP, registered professional health practitioner or go to the hospital if it's an emergency situation. In Australia we have a government health advice line you can ring and speak to a nurse who will assess if you need to go to emergency: 1800 022 222.
HEAT
A great place to start to alleviate pain is heat. Heat makes blood vessels expand, getting more of the healing properties to the area you have heated up. Because too much blood with no movement can cause stagnation, it's best to use heat for 20 mins at a time, and follow up with some movement of the area or light massage around the area depending on the type of injury /pain you have.
MOXA
Moxa is a type of herbal heat that is widely used in Chinese medicine. Moxa is a herb that has Blood moving properties, and is used by everyday people as well as practitioners to alleviate pain. In the clinic, you might see practitioners use moxa on acupuncture points with a stick or cones or even a moxa box. The wooden boxes are a great way to use the moxa at home for personal use. Tiger warmers - the metal stick device featured in the photo to the left, are a device designed to help people use the moxa stick on areas like the back, shoulders, limbs and abdomen to treat pain. We sell the tiger warmers and moxa boxes in our store, and our staff can assist you with help to learn how to use them. Link to Moxa products on our Webstore just Below:
www.metrohealth.myshopify.com/moxa
ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential Oils are another favourite of mine for natural pain relief.Frankincense, Clary Sage and Lavender is a good blend to soothe pain. Frankincense is a blood moving Chinese Herb - it's function is to move Blood stasis. Injuries will usually result in some degree of Blood stasis, so moving it will help speed up healing.
Frankincense and Clary Sage is great combination for period pain, back pain or pain from traumatic injuries. Lavender is soothing and is often used to help headaches. Apply directly or dilute and use with caution during pregnancy.
Heating Essential oils include Camphor, Menthol, Eucalyptus, Wintergreen - which are great for Arthritis or Joint pain (known or Cold/Damp Bi Zheng Syndrome in Chinese Medicine). Camphor and Menthol are common ingredients in well known "pain rubs" like tiger balm and deep heat. I once made a salt scrub using Wintergreen for a patient who suffered arthritis - in the shower they could scrub their body with the exfoliating scrub which left a soothing warming oily residue to moisturise and infuse the skin with the pain- reliving essential oils.
We have essential oils available in our Maylands Store and also online @ http://metrohealth.myshopify.com
MENTAL DISTRACTION
Finally, there is something great about mental distraction in managing chronic pain. You get what you foucs on...so if you have nothing else there but you and the pain, it will become worse due to it bieng your sole focus. Distract your mind by planning activities, watching a movie or TV, going for a walk if you can or even do a difficult puzzle or something else to take your mind off it. Not all kinds of pain are suited to this method, but some pains, like period pain will actually benefit more from moving or standing than sitting and lying. Moving around might feel like the last thing you might feel like doing, however it's better to aid blood movement by standing and walking rather than sitting or lying down all day. Psychology, visualisation and hypnosis all contain powerful mind tools which experienced professionals can teach their clients how to better manage pain.Of course, if pain gets worse, your symptoms change or your unsure of the cause you should see your Health Care Professional or go to the hospital in an urgent situation.
