According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 40% of Americans and more than two-thirds of the world population use complementary or alternative therapies. Since 1990, Americans have increased their use of such therapies by 30% and paid $27 billion in out-of-pocket expenses. The quality of research supporting complementary and alternative approaches varies from therapy to therapy. Complementary therapies are used together with traditional Western medicine. Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.
Complementary techniques to manage pain include diet, exercise, biofeedback, massage, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and self-regulation techniques such as self-hypnosis, relaxation training, yoga, reiki (a natural healing process using the hands to tap a universal life energy) and Jin Shin Jyutsu (a process to balance the body’s energies to bring optimal health and well-being).
Practitioners of complementary medicine, such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, and naturopaths, often view health as a balance of physical, emotional and spiritual factors. Complementary treatment often attempts to restore that balance. The most widely used complementary medicine practices in the United States are acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy, naturopathy, and herbal medicines
acupuncture treatment for pain
Acupuncture
Originating in China more than 2,500 years ago, acupuncture involves inserting long, extremely thin needles into specific points along the body to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Acupuncturists believe that energy—called qi—circulates through the body and that pain or illness results when this energy is blocked from moving along specific pathways, called meridians. According to principles of acupuncture, health can be restored by inserting needles along the meridians to remove energy blocks and achieve balance. Acupuncture can be used to relieve pain and discomfort. It also can be combined with electrical stimulation (electro-acupuncture).
Specialists who provide biofeedback training range from psychiatrists and psychologists to dentists, internists, nurses, and physical therapists. Most rely on many other techniques in addition to biofeedback. Patients usually are taught some form of relaxation exercise. Some learn to identify the circumstances that trigger their symptoms. They may also be taught how to avoid or cope with these stressful events. Most are encouraged to change their habits, and some are trained in special techniques for gaining such self-control. Biofeedback is not magic. It cannot cure disease or by itself make a person healthy. It is a tool, one of many available to health care professionals. It reminds physicians that behavior, thoughts, and feelings profoundly influence physical health. And it helps both patients and doctors understand that they must work together as a team.
Biofeedback is a technique that teaches people to use visual or sound cues to control their own biological responses to pain and stress. To teach people to “listen” to their bodies, a biofeedback trainer may use a device that detects electrical signals from the muscles and translates those signals into a sound, like a beep, or a visual, like a light, that people can recognize. For example, the machine flashes a light or sounds a beep every time a person’s muscles become tense so that people learn to associate sensations occurring within the muscles with tension levels. They then can learn to relax muscles and induce a state of calmness that can help improve pain. After going through a series of treatments, people learn how to respond without using the machine. Some devices help people learn to control their physical functioning by measuring skin temperature, heart rate, sweat gland activity and brain wave activity.
Chiropractors, osteopathic physicians and manual therapists most commonly practice this intervention, which involves moving tissue by the laying on of hands. According to the International Chiropractic Association, the primary focus of chiropractic is the detection, reduction and correction of spinal misalignments and nervous system dysfunction. Doctors of chiropractic attempt to get to the root cause of a health problem and seek to maximize the natural strengths of the body and its capacity to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery.
Guided Imagery
Guided imagery is a relaxation technique that involves sitting or lying quietly and imagining yourself in a favorite peaceful setting (e.g., beach, forest). Guided imagery, also called visualization, is more than just picturing your favorite peaceful setting—it’s truly imagining yourself in that setting. Be as specific as possible. Imagine what sounds you hear, what sensations you feel (e.g., cool or warm breeze), the textures you might feel, the sights you might see. The more specific your visualization, the higher level of relaxation you’ll experience as your mind truly is “in” the relaxing place you’re picturing.
Herbal Medicines and Supplements
Many people come across herbal remedies when they’re looking for relief. In the United States, herbal remedies do not have to meet quality control standards. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the manufacture of herbal remedies or dietary supplements. Such remedies and supplements do not need FDA approval before they are marketed.
Homeopathic Medicine
Homeopathy is an alternative, non-toxic approach used to treat illness and relieve discomfort in a wide range of health conditions. Founded in Germany in the late-1860s, the practice of homeopathy is based on using the “law of similars” to stimulate a healing response — a principle that goes back to the days of Hippocrates. The law of similars states that a substance that will cause disease symptoms in a normal person can, when given in homeopathic dilutions to an ill individual, prompt the same set of symptoms to initiate a healing response. Homeopathic preparations, called remedies, must be prepared in a certain way, and the dilution used will depend on the symptoms being treated. As with any alternative or complementary therapy, make sure you consult with your physician before taking traditional and homeopathic remedies at the same time. Mixing medications can result in harmful medical interactions.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis involves entering an altered state of consciousness whereby suggestions made while an individual is in an altered state can lead to changes in behavior or, in the case of pain, altered physical sensations. According to the American Society of Clinical Hypnotists, clinical hypnotists use mental imagery to help patients visualize their pain or disease and then encourage them to imagine these images changing to healthy ones (e.g., a patient with a headache may focus on visualizing constricted blood vessels in the brain and then imagine the blood vessels opening and relieving the pain). Self-hypnosis involves inducing an altered state of consciousness — and thus controlling pain sensation — by yourself.
Massage
Massage is the practice of soft tissue manipulation with physical, functional, and in some cases psychological purposes and goals. The word comes from the French massage “friction of kneading,” or from Arabic massa meaning “to touch, feel or handle” or from Latin massa meaning “mass, dough”. An older etymology may even have been the Hebrew me-sakj “to anoint with oil”. Massage therapy can help to relax your stress in many ways. In distinction the ancient Greek word for massage was anatripsis, and the Latin was frictio.
Massage involves acting on and manipulating the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Target tissues may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, or other connective tissue, as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, forearm, and feet. There are over eighty different recognized massage modalities. The most cited reasons for introducing massage as therapy have been client demand and perceived clinical effectiveness.
In professional settings massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. The massage subject may be fully or partly unclothed. Parts of the body may be covered with towels or sheets.
Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic medicine was founded on the principles of the healing power of nature, focuses on optimizing wellness and preventing disease, and has been around for centuries. Naturopathic physicians (NDs) are primary health care providers who use therapies that are generally natural and nontoxic, including clinical nutrition, homeopathy, botanical medicine, hydrotherapy, physical medicine, counseling, and sometimes acupuncture. Naturopathic physicians study at a four-year, graduate level naturopathic medical school that includes the basic sciences studied by medical doctors. They must take and pass board examinations to be licensed as primary care physicians. Naturopathic medicine can be used to complement conventional medicine and NDs may refer patients to appropriate medical specialists for certain conditions (e.g., an oncologist or surgeon).
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressively relaxing your muscles is a technique that requires some practice but can help you achieve a state of complete relaxation. Begin by focusing on your toes and feet—deliberately tense the muscles in your toes and feet and then concentrate on letting the tension go in each muscle. Move your way up your body until you reach your head. Be careful about tensing areas in which you feel pain—if necessary, avoid those areas and focus on relaxing the rest of your body. When the rest of your body is relaxed, your pain areas won’t feel as tense.
Relaxation Breathing
Using breathing techniques helps your body relax and takes your mind away from everyday worries. Practice relaxation breathing by taking a breath in through your nose as you count to four, hold it as you count to seven, and breathe out through your mouth while you count to eight. It may seem silly or uncomfortable at first, but relaxation breathing will feel more natural with practice. Slow, steady relaxation breathing can help you relax tense muscles and truly focusing on your breathing can help you break a cycle of negative thoughts.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to improve flexibility and muscle tone, develop good deep breathing and relaxation techniques, and reduce stress. Yoga, developed 5,000 years ago, is an exercise that focuses on physical postures called “asanas” and breathing exercises called “pranayma.” As with any exercise program, it’s important to discuss yoga with your health care provider before beginning. It might help to begin your yoga practice in a class where an instructor can help you learn the postures and breathing.
