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When Alternative Therapies Don’t Work: Here’s What You Need to Know
Many patients come to me seeking pain relief. Whether it is back pain, neck and shoulder pain, or arthritis pain, my patients need solutions. Sometimes, the solution involves treating an underlying condition and putting an end to the pain. Sometimes, it means learning to manage chronic pain over the long term. Often, it simply means offering quick relief so people can get on with daily life. It’s this third solution that we’ll be discussing today.
Pain and Your Nerves
A back injury may be very different from chronic arthritis, but these conditions are similar in one aspect: both trigger a series of exchanges between the three major parts of your nervous system. These exchanges or messages are relayed through the body by neurons, the billions of cells that make up the nervous system. The result is the sensation you know as pain.
When Alternative Therapies Don’t Work: Here’s What You Need to Know
It must have been 26 years ago that I had my first experience with so-called “alternative medicine.” I was 13 and had been suffering chronic daily headaches and mid-back pain for half-a-dozen years. I was already seeing the best in Philadelphia’s mainstream medicine, taking a plethora of prescription meds, and being put through dozens of tests, scans, and protocols…. All to no avail.
My father then took me to see a chiropractor, and do you know what? Within minutes my back and neck felt so much looser! My restricted movement was returned to within normal ranges. And I also started taking supplements. Over all, it was an amazing feeling… empowering!
I went back several times that week for treatments, and at home, attempted the exercises he instructed me to do. But the pain, and my suffering, returned and continued. This is not surprising. In fact, it is a common occurrence when people try alternative therapies — making them think that they don’t work.
