Traditional Chinese Medicine`s Approach to Pain

By Dr. Melissa Carr
	Traditional Chinese Medicine`s Approach to Pain While pain means suffering and misery to most, it is also a sign that your body is alerting you to pay attention. While pain means suffering and misery to most, it is also a sign that your body is alerting you to pay attention. If your house smoke alarm starts beeping, do you turn it off without addressing the cause of the alarm? Of course not! Yet many people try to cover pain by taking drugs or by simply ignoring it. While this may temporarily dull the pain, your body will continue to remind you that something is still wrong because the cause of the problem has not been addressed. “Quick fix” drugs can also have negative side effects and they often do not treat chronic pain effectively over time. Pain receptors, called nociceptors, are stimulated by pressure, stretching, tearing, extreme heat or cold, inflammation and chemical changes in the body. While it may seem that pain is felt at the site of one of these stimuli, pain is actually felt in the brain. Each receptor has a threshold or limit that must be exceeded before it will send its signal to the brain. This threshold will vary from person to person, from situation to situation and from location to location. This is why some people say that they have a high pain tolerance while others will be more sensitive to pain. Inflammation and pain commonly occurs hand-in-hand and although inflammation is often painful, it is a vitally important part of our tissue repair. As part of the body's natural rhythms, inflammation is usually worse at night. While the body focuses on defending against attack from viruses and bacteria during the day, it switches its focus to tissue repair at night. However, when stress causes a disruption in this pattern, the inflammatory phase can continue to be active during the day and this weakens the defensive activities, thus leaving the body vulnerable to illness and infection. Both physically and psychologically, it is important to treat pain and inflammation because they can slow recovery, interfere with sleeping and eating and worsen fear, anxiety, frustration and depression. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a truly holistic (whole body) approach to healing both pain and inflammation that can address both the symptom and the cause. How does TCM treat pain? TCM doctors have used acupuncture and herbs to treat warriors, martial artists, emperors and empresses, farmers and children for over 5000 years. The basic premise is that pain is a result of a blockage of the normally smooth flow of Qi through the meridians. Qi is the energy that nourishes every cell, tissue, organ, and system in the body. When it is obstructed, it accumulates on one side of the blockage and is deficient on the other side. One of the symptoms associated with this problem is pain. This pathology can be compared to a hose through which flows water to feed a plant. If there is an obstruction in the hose, the water will not flow smoothly and the plant will wilt. Acupuncture While this is not fully understood by Western science, acupuncture is a natural, time-tested, safe and effective way to treat pain. It is acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Arthritis Society, and many pain management centres and institutes. Acupuncture, which relieves pain by moving the Qi energy, may be supported by Chinese herbs, food cures, and tui na massage. Acupuncture has been shown to stimulate the production of endorphins (chemicals that block pain), neutralize trigger points, relax muscles and block the transmission of pain signals to the brain by stimulating competing nerves. While these are important findings, they do not explain why acupuncture is beneficial long after the treatment should have worn off, especially if acupoints that treat the root of the problem are also chosen. One major benefit of acupuncture as a complementary therapy is that it can be used safely with other therapies, including pharmaceutical drugs. Herbal remedies Many herbs have been shown to be anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving. Your TCM herbalist will choose herbs that move Qi and blood to relieve pain and also add herbs to treat the underlying imbalances. Food cures Without proper nutrition our bodies do not heal well. In order to replace and repair damaged cells, specific nutrients need to be available. When they are not, recovery is impaired. In addition, as with the herbal remedies, some foods have medicinal properties and food recommendations can be made to suit the individual. Tui na massage and exercise Massage has been used by nearly every culture worldwide as a treatment for pain and ailments. Exercise, including stretching and strengthening, is important to speed healing and prevent future pain and injury. "If there is free flow, there is no pain; If there is no free flow, there is pain."