If you are in pain, it can make you irritable, moody, depressed, and unable to concentrate. Pain can make you tense and keep you from sleeping well through the night. Pain can simply make you tired, very tired.
Pain that is fairly recent is called acute pain. If the pain persists and lasts more than 4-6 weeks it is considered chronic pain. This seems to be the majority of cases I see, as most people put off coming in as they think the pain will go away on its own.
What causes chronic pain?
Myofascial trigger points are one of the most common causes of persistent pain. Trigger points are tender, tight bands or “knots” within a muscle that can refer pain to other areas of the body as well. They can become fibrous and hard overtime.
This can be referred to as myofascial pain and you can have multiple trigger points throughout your body.
For instance, trigger points in your jaw can cause TMJ pain and headaches, trigger points in your low back and buttocks can cause sciatica, and trigger points in your calves and feet can cause plantar fasciitis.
Myofascial trigger points or muscular adhesions can also cause nerve entrapment leading to numbness and tingling in your arms or legs.
These trigger points can be caused by an accident or injury, even one from years prior. Myofascial pain can also be caused gradually from repetitive stress, by doing the same type of activities over and over again. Things like sports, sitting at a computer for years, or using your smartphone for hours a day.
Even though myofascial trigger points are one of the most common causes of pain, they cannot be identified on x-ray or MRI. This leads many doctors to think that your pain is not real, due to stress or “all in your head.”
Another cause of persistent pain is joint dysfunction. This is where the joints of your spine or extremities can become stiff, stuck or fixated, and they don’t have normal motion.
This can cause local pain and inflammation, irritate nerves, and can result in headaches, neck or back pain, TMJ, hip or other joint pain.
What are the best solutions for pain?
Well I thought I would look on WebMD first to see what an internet savvy person could find out. You know, WebMD, the number one “health” website with 80 million unique visitors per month.
For pain treatment, they list a choice of 5 pain relievers, 8 different antidepressants, 5 anticonvulsants (originally developed for epilepsy) or 3 different opioid pain killers such as codeine, morphine or oxycodone. And painkillers happen to be one of the most common causes for drug addictions (and drug overdose deaths) in United States.
Besides all of the side effects, and dependency with the above drugs, they do nothing to resolve the cause of the pain. Now I realize there are some conditions, like cancer for instance, that require these medications for pain relief.
But for the majority of cases, if you want to actually correct the underlying cause of pain there are some natural pain solutions available to you.
After treating thousands of patients over the past 30 years, I have found that the most effective treatment for pain is a multifaceted, 7-point approach. I call it Functional & Free™- A 7-Step Program to determine your root cause and provide you with whole body permanent solutions! and it includes:
1. Active Release Techniques, which is a type of myofascial release or manual therapy, to reduce pain producing myofascial trigger points, adhesions and fibrous tissue, and to restore muscular balance.
2. Gentle chiropractic adjustments to restore normal joint function and movement. Instead of manual manipulation (cracking your neck or back), we use a computerized instrument called the Impulse. This is a very advanced, gentle and precise way to reduce pain and restore motion to joints.
3. Super Pulsed Laser therapy to reduce pain and inflammation, and enhance microcirculation to promote healing.
4. Therapeutic functional training exercises and vibration training to improve strength, flexibility, balance and posture.
5. Coaching on Lifestyle Modifications such as what type of exercise to do, stress relief activities, proper sleep habits, and even the use of infrared sauna.
6. A personalized nutrition program with our Natural Medicine Formulas based on lab testing to see what deficiencies or imbalances can be corrected to help transform your health.
General recommendations for natural pain relief include nutritional supplements such as Magnesium, Ultra Pure Fish Oil, Vitamin D and and an herbal remedy called Curcumin Protect to help enhance recovery and aid the healing process.
7. A proprietary diet that can reduce inflammation and enhance healing. I call this The FreeDiet™ as it can help you become free of pain, fatigue, fogginess and fat.
I applied this treatment program to a 40-year-old women recently who came in with fatigue (for 25+ years), migraine headaches, neck and jaw pain, anxiety, depression, poor memory and concentration, insomnia and a number of other symptoms.
All this was in spite of being on a number of medications. She started feeling a lot better with treatment and was sleeping well through the night. Her energy came back and she was soon feeling good for the first time in years.
If you or loved one is in pain and would like to know if we can help you, email us at info@nmcwellness.com or call us at 561-627-5800.
Yours for optimal health,
Dr. Tom Rofrano