Natural medicine and managing chronic pain

Most of us either have, or will suffer from, some form of chronic or severe pain in our lives.

For some, this can be a daily reality and daily battle.

Whether there is a known cause for your pain such as an injury, accident or trauma, or your pain is simmering away but doesn’t fit into any “diagnosis” or category, there are plenty of natural strategies to help you safely manage your pain.

I often work alongside patients’ medication regimes to find a safe adjunct, with the ideal scenario to have patients need less of these drugs.

Where I feel natural medicine can really help, is in those poorly understood, often unrecognised multi system conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

These conditions can be characterised by muscle pain and weakness, tenderness, headaches, migraine and debilitating fatigue.

Still much is unknown about these conditions. Are the auto-immune? Postvital? Psychological? Mental/emotional? Or a combination of many factors.

Regardless of the cause, the fact remains that this pain is real.

It’s daily, and is affecting those who suffer in their ability to live the life they would like to.

Simple things such as magnesium, White Willow bark, capsaicin (topically), turmeric, Boswelia, fish oil and arnica can bring relief, but the real relief comes in identifying triggers for the inflammatory flare ups.

Are there underlying food intolerances? Hormone dysregulation? Poor digestion and detoxification? Environmental toxicity? And of course, stress!

I enjoy treating patients in these situations as they often feel unheard, stuck, frustrated and as though there is no hope.

If you suffer from any sort of pain, first see your GP to ensure appropriate medical investigation is carried out, and absolutely consider natural medicine in your tool kit.

Bec Winkler is a naturopath with more than 10 years’ experience. She works at the Chiropractic Centre, Jan Juc.