7 Non Medicine Treatments for Pain

 Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." In medical diagnosis, pain is regarded as a symptom of an underlying condition.

There are several ways to categorize pain. One is to separate it into acute pain and chronic pain.

Acute pain typically comes on suddenly and has a limited duration. It's frequently caused by damage to tissue such as bone, muscle, or organs, and the onset is often accompanied by anxiety or emotional distress.

Chronic pain lasts longer than acute pain and is generally somewhat resistant to medical treatment. It's usually associated with a long-term illness, such as osteoarthritis. In some cases, such as with fibromyalgia, it's one of the defining characteristic of the disease. Chronic pain can be the result of damaged tissue, but very often is attributable to nerve damage.

Many non-medicine treatments are available to help you. A combination of treatments and therapies is often more effective than just one.

Some non-medicine options include:

1. Relaxation and stress management techniques
This techniques including meditation and yoga

2. Massage  
Massage is better suited to soft tissue injuries and should be avoided if the pain is in the joints. There is some evidence that suggests massage may help manage pain, but it is not recommended as a long-term therapy

3. Heat or Cold
Use ice packs immediately after an injury to reduce swelling. Heat packs are better for relieving chronic muscle or joint injuries.


4. Physical Therapies
Physical Therapies such as walking, stretching, strengthening or aerobic exercises may help reduce pain, keep you mobile and improve your mood. You may need to increase your exercise very slowly to avoid over-doing it
    
5. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
This therapy can help you learn to change how to think and, in turn, how you feel and behave about pain. This is a valuable strategy for learning to self-manage chronic pain.

6. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a component of traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture involves inserting thin needles into specific points on the skin. It aims to restore balance within the body and encourage it to heal by releasing natural pain-relieving compounds (endorphins). Some people find that acupuncture reduces the severity of their pain and enables them to maintain function. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in managing pain is inconclusive

7. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy
Minute electrical currents pass through the skin via electrodes, prompting a pain-relieving response from the body. There is not enough published evidence to support the use of TENS for the treatment of some chronic pain conditions. However, some people with chronic pain that are unresponsive to other treatments may experience a benefit.

Your doctor or other healthcare professional can guide you through the best treatments for you.

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