Alternative Pain Relief Methods for You

If you’re in pain, it may be a good idea to explore your pain relief options, including therapies that complement or provide an alternative to pain relief medication. We’ve compiled this article for you as a starting point to explore alternative pain management methods, so you can get back to being yourself, joyfully....

Pain is an uncomfortable (to say the least!) physical sensation that often shows up to indicate that something isn’t quite right. This “something's wrong” could range from a broken bone to an aroma that is irritating your sinuses to more serious illnesses. Pain can be described as aching, throbbing, stabbing, pinching, and another myriad ways, depending on how you experience it,¹ and is highly individual.

Chronic pain, or pain that lasts for three months or more, differs from acute pain, or the temporary type of pain you may feel from an injury or strain.² Chronic pain is pain that has outlasted normal healing time.³ It often is residual pain from an underlying condition such as osteoarthritis, or a past injury, and is no longer a warning sign, the way acute pain is.

Why alternative pain relief methods?

Pain can affect your lifestyle, relationships, and even your profession. In fact, pain can ...make you pull away from the people you love and from activities you enjoy - 75% of pain sufferers felt that their social life was impacted due to their pain⁴.

It can make you retreat into yourself, in both major and minor ways. Maybe you used to meet with friends for a night out, but have found yourself saying ‘no’ because it’s too uncomfortable getting in and out of the car to get there. Or maybe it means you cook less food you enjoy because opening cans and jars has become too difficult.

Pain can also hamper your quality of sleep.

Finding a pain management regimen – which can include alternative pain relief methods – can help to maintain your quality of life. In this situation, toughing out the pain and trying to 'grin and bear it', isn’t necessarily the best course of action especially when the pain isn't a warning sign but instead a condition. Exploring alternative pain relief methods may be just what you need to get you living life to the fullest again.

Alternative pain relief methods

Alternative pain relief methods and therapies are any treatment or intervention that supplements or replaces conventional Western medications.

TENS therapy

TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. TENS delivers low-voltage electrical stimulation to your nerves via electrodes attached to your skin.

By delivering non-painful stimulation to the nerves surrounding your pain point, TENS can change how your brain responds to pain. TENS pain relief is also thought to be achieved by modified level of endorphins that are released as a result of the electrostimulation.

Support braces

Support braces can be helpful for relieving pain in an injured or damaged area, whether that be from a chronic condition, from injury, or surgery. Support braces can reduce swelling and can be helpful in keeping joints stable and aligned so that no further pain is caused by unnatural movement or gait.¹

Some support braces come in ready-made sizes. Others can be custom fitted to you. If you are just starting out with support braces, you may want to opt for a ready-made model to try it out first and see if you like it.

Massage

Massage is a superb way to relax and indulge in some self-care. It can also be a powerful tool for alternative pain management.⁸ You may choose to book an appointment with a massage therapist or engage in some self-massage at home. Massage can be performed with varying degrees of pressure. Keep in mind that a massage doesn’t need to be painful to be therapeutic. So, kick your feet up and enjoy.

Yoga

Some studies have shown that yoga is effective at reducing pain, though the mechanisms that make this true remain unclear.¹ No matter. If it reduces your pain, we like it!

Taking a yoga class can be beneficial in expanding your circle of support as it gets you out of the house and in conversation with other people with at least one similar interest (yoga!). Support systems such as this can be especially helpful when managing pain, which can be isolating. So, go ahead! Learn some yoga poses and start moving that body (gently, of course!).

¹ “What is pain/types of pain treated?” Johns Hopkins Medicine https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pain/blaustein_pain_center/patient_care/what_is_pain.html https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pain/blaustein_pain_center/patient_care/what_is_pain.html Accessed July 2020
² A classification of chronic pain for ICD-11 Pain. 2015 June https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450869/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4450869/ Accessed 15 May 2020
³ “The difference between acute and chronic pain.” The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine 1991 May. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1875958 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1875958 Accessed 15 May 2020
⁴ Global Pain Index 2018. “Short- and Long-term Health Consequences of Sleep Disruption.” Nat Sci Sleep. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/ Date accessed: 22 Apr 20
⁶ “Using Integrative Medicine in Pain Management: An Evaluation of Current Evidence” Anesthesia and Analgesia Dec 2017 Vol 125 Issue 6 https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2017/12000/Using_Integrative_Medicine_in_Pain_Management___An.38.aspx?PRID=AA_PR_112117 https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2017/12000/Using_Integrative_Medicine_in_Pain_Management___An.38.aspx?PRID=AA_PR_112117 Accessed July 2020
⁷ “Knee Braces for Osteoarthritis” Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/knee-braces/about/pac-20384791 https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/knee-braces/about/pac-20384791 Accessed July 2020
⁸ “Therapeutic Massage for Pain Relief” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School. July 2016. https://www.health.harvard.edu/alternative-and-complementary-medicine/therapeutic-massage-for-pain-reliefhttps://www.health.harvard.edu/alternative-and-complementary-medicine/therapeutic-massage-for-pain-relief Accessed July 2020
⁹ “Using Integrative Medicine in Pain Management: An Evaluation of Current Evidence” Anesthesia and Analgesia Dec 2017 Vol 125 Issue 6 https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2017/12000/Using_Integrative_Medicine_in_Pain_Management___An.38.aspx?PRID=AA_PR_112117 https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2017/12000/Using_Integrative_Medicine_in_Pain_Management___An.38.aspx?PRID=AA_PR_112117 Accessed July 2020
¹⁰ “The association between chronic pain and obesity” Journal of Pain Research 2015 July. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508090/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508090/ Accessed July 2020
¹¹ “Biofeedback” Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/about/pac-20384664 https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/about/pac-20384664 Accessed July 2020

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