Managing Pain without Drugs Part 1: Introduction

Chronic pain is an epidemic in this country. So many people have pain from their back, neck, or legs that their activities of daily living are impacted, they can’t work, and they become sedentary leading to a whole other host of diseases. It is common for someone to get opiate pain killers (Vicodin, Percocet, OxyContin, etc) from a doctor’s office to handle the pain but they are not often educated on how these medications work. Since opiates work on the opioid receptors in brain to change the perception of pain, the brain will automatically adjust the opioid receptors in the brain so that more and more of the drug is needed for the same effect. Then viola, you’re addicted. There is no research that supports the use of opiates for longer than 3 months. Any longer than 3 months and most people report that the more opioid drugs they take the WORSE their pain is. Often the next step is surgeries that may or may not work.

In my recent study of pain, I was reminded how many different types of pain there are. There is vascular pain, muscular pain (myofascial pain), rheumatic (bone) pain, neuralgic (nerve) pain, and causalgic (autonomic nerves). Each one has a different sensation too. That’s why your doctor asks for detailed description of the pain and things that make it worse and better. The most common cause of chronic pain is myofascial pain which is a dull steady ache. Treatment of chronic pain is essential to maintaining a higher quality of life and preventing depression.

There are also many types of pain treatments that could lessen if not eliminate the use of addictive drugs. From the mental side you have techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, deep relaxation with or without hypnosis, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and other stress reduction techniques. From the physical side you have acupuncture, neuromuscular massage, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Not to mention, nutrition can affect your pain levels as well.

An excellent, well rounded resource is Dr. Mel Pohl,’s book, The Pain Antidote. He talks about the causes of pain if you are interested and then many treatment possibilities. Hope this helps in your search for other techniques to manage pain.