Pain is an unwelcome visitor that can disrupt every facet of our lives. It’s not just about the discomfort; pain can fundamentally alter how we live, work, and interact with those around us. At Lake Pointe Wellness Center, we understand that when it comes to chronic pain, relief can’t come soon enough.
What is Chronic Pain
Chronic pain, defined as pain lasting longer than 12 weeks, often continues well beyond the expected period of healing, challenging the lives of sufferers with its persistent and perplexing presence. From fatigue and sleep disturbances to mood changes and physical limitations, the ripple effects of chronic pain are profound and pervasive.
Chronic Pain vs Acute Pain
This is different from acute pain, which is a temporary symptom of a recent injury or trauma. It’s important to note that no matter the original source of pain symptoms, functional wellness practitioners at Lake Pointe Wellness Center have actionable, sustainable solutions for treating
pain in the body.
In this blog, we’ll delve into few of the illnesses caused by chronic pain and how our holistic approach stands apart in managing and treating chronic pain, offering not just temporary fixes but long-term strategies for a pain-free life.
Holistic Strategies for Chronic Pain Relief
Migraines
Migraines are severe, recurring headaches most commonly known for their throbbing or pulsing sensation. The strength of migraines can cause nausea and weakness throughout the whole body. Millions of Americans suffer from migraines every year.
Pain-relieving medications can help manage migraine symptoms, but our approach at Lake Pointe Wellness Center is to identify the root cause of the patient’s migraines to address, treat, and heal the entire body.
Joint and Muscle Pain
Chronic, persistent pain in the hands, neck, back, feet, knees, elbows and other joints restrict the patient’s range of motion and flexibility. This means that pain in a single area of the body has the ability to affect a patient’s entire fitness if it limits their ability to exercise, cook healthy meals, perform daily tasks, and more. Attempts to restrict the blood flow with the use of braces can negatively affect the healing process without the proper application and use.
Functional medicine practitioners offer alternative treatments to help heal injured or damaged joints and muscles without threatening one’s overall wellness.
Sciatica
Sciatica is a condition where a problem with the sciatic nerve causes lower back pain. The sciatic nerve follows the back of each leg. There are many things that can cause disturbances with the nerve, including recent injury or trauma, misalignment of the bones and muscles, chronic diseases that strain the skeletal and nervous systems, and more. The most common symptom of sciatica is the back pain itself, specifically along the lower back, legs and buttocks.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Degenerative disc disease is diagnosed when pain along the spinal cord reveals damaged and thinning discs between the vertebrae. Without healthy intervertebral discs, pieces of the spine rub against each other when the patient moves, causing serious damage to the vertebrae, the discs, the nerves and more. It also has the ability to limit the patient’s overall wellness by minimizing their capability of physical activity. Symptoms to watch out for include back pain that worsens when sitting, bending, twisting or lifting, temporary relief from walking, spinal instability or a sudden loss of support, and more.
Degenerative Joint Disease
Degenerative joint disease, also commonly known as osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic condition that plagues our joints. Similar to degenerative disc disease, OA occurs when cartilage around our joints breaks down like the discs between the vertebrae. The subsequent
contact made by the bones without protection leads to symptoms like pain, tenderness, stiffness, bone spurs, loss of flexibility and more.
Functional medicine practitioners at Lake Pointe Wellness Center offer solutions to patients suffering from OA, no matter the original circumstance of the pain.
Carpal Tunnel
Carpal tunnel syndrome is well known in businesses and homes around America. There are more than 3 million cases reported every year. Carpal tunnel syndrome refers to a compression (squeezing) of the median nerve in the hands and arms. The most common symptoms include pain, numbness, or tingling sensations in a patient’s arms or hands. Carpal tunnel especially affects people who work in offices and other careers with mostly sedentary physical roles.
Functional wellness offers a variety of treatments that not only lessens the symptoms of carpal tunnel, but actively works to heal and fully recover the tension around the median nerve.
Bursitis
Bursitis happens when the bursae near joints like the shoulder or the knees become inflamed or damaged. Bursae are small sacks filled with fluid that cushion and protect bones, joints, and tendons. Symptoms of bursitis include pain around the shoulder, hip, knee, elbow or heel, swelling and redness in the affected area, or a sudden inability to move the affected area. The condition is caused by excessive movement of the joint, a recent injury or trauma, working conditions like kneeling or lifting, and constant overuse from athletes.
Chiropractic care, massage therapy, acupuncture and other functional wellness treatments are proven highly successful in the treatment of conditions like bursitis.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a condition in the heel that causes sharp, stabbing pain along the bottom of the patient’s foot and heel. A thick band of tissue that spans the bottom of the foot and gathers at the heel becomes inflamed due to different circumstances, most commonly in people ages 40 to 60, people who exercise on their feet for long periods of time, obese people, or people whose jobs keep them on their feet throughout the day. If the stabbing, painful symptom occurs most often in the mornings or after exercise, the patient may likely suffer from plantar fasciitis.
Functional wellness practitioners can help discern the root cause of the patient’s pain and offer actionable solutions, whether it covers treating the heel directly or assisting in lifestyle changes that will relieve and heal the condition for good.
Treating Chronic Pain without Medication
Most people who seek to treat chronic pain without medication are focused on one of three problems. First, they feel that the pain medication is just masking their issue, and they want to pursue true healing. Secondly, pain medication has not been as effective at pain management as they hoped for. Lastly, people want to treat chronic pain without medication because the side effects of pain management drugs are too severe. Whatever your reasons, there are many options to choose from as you explore what can heal and support you. Start by embracing a holistic approach, moving on to a specific treatment plan, and what a medication-free plan of treatment will look like for you.
Embrace a Holistic Approach
Pain medication is a very direct way of treating pain. When it fails, it can feel like there aren’t a lot of other options for improvement. Treating chronic pain without medication focuses on a holistic approach. There could be more than one reason why you’re hurting. A lot of issues in your life have combined to create a perfect storm of chronic pain. You don’t have to live that way! The first step towards easing your pain may be to do a complete overview of your health. By working on other areas, you could eliminate some of the supporting factors for your chronic pain.
Massage Works Wonders
Getting a massage is one of the first things recommended to treat chronic pain. For example, headaches can commonly be caused by a neck injury. Once you have frequent headaches, the stress and the fear raises levels of some hormones in your blood, and these hormones in turn can cause pain and tightness in the muscles. Even simple muscle tension can give you a severe headache. A massage therapist can target the site of your injury with a deep tissue massage. This increases blood flow to the injury and works to keep it supple and flexible. At the same time, a general massage reduces tension and inflammation in your body. Your stress hormones are lowered, reducing your muscle tension and eliminating the supporting causes of chronic headaches. Massage is popular in holistic approaches to pain management.
Acupuncture Can Be Used for Pain
Acupuncture has a long history of use with great effect. While the mystical explanations comfort some and make others uneasy, the scientific basis of acupuncture is simple. Many problems, from chronic pain to frequent digestion problems and more, are caused by certain nerves firing even when they’re not stimulated. This trains your brain to expect input from these nerves, and thus you experience severe discomfort for essentially no real reason. Acupuncture works to reset your nervous system. The needles provide stimulation to your nerves, allowing them to react to something real and then removing the stimulation, allowing them to stop signalling.
Conclusion
Living with chronic pain is an immense challenge, and finding effective, sustainable relief can be a frustrating journey fraught with false starts and dead ends. At Lake Pointe Wellness Center, we are committed to changing the narrative of this journey, transforming it from a path of endless suffering to one of recovery and renewal.
Our functional wellness approach goes beyond merely masking symptoms; it aims to unearth and address the root causes of pain, whether it be migraines or muscle pain, sciatica or degenerative diseases.
If you’re ready to take the first step towards a life with less pain and more joy, we invite you to sign up for a personal consultation at Lake Pointe Wellness Center. Our team of experts is ready to craft a personalized plan that addresses your pain at its source, offering you a path to recovery and well-being. Don’t let pain hold you back any longer.
