Pain Awareness Month 

September is Pain Awareness Month

Some may ask “If you have pain, aren’t you aware of it?” The truth is over 51 million Americans live with and suffer from chronic pain conditions. While they are certainly aware of it, many hide and find ways to deal with their pain since they have found no way to really heal or fix the pain. Many patients come to me to be treated for pain, and they mostly don’t look like they are dealing with a problem that is profoundly affecting their lives. I asked a patient the other day “How are you doing?” She said “Good”, then said, well not really and listed out a number of problems she wanted to get help with. This automatic response of “I’m good” or “Oh, I’m fine” is ingrained in us. We don’t want to burden others with our problems so we smile, give a pat response, and continue on our way, suffering in silence. This is what pain awareness month is about; recognizing that many around you suffer with chronic pain.

Another sad truth is many can get relief from, and even heal the problem. Chronic pain, pain that has existed for over three months, is often not even a good indication that there is still a problem causing the pain. The dysfunction has been resolved but the nervous system is still sending the pain signals to the brain, caught in a loop. Your body is a self healing machine. Parts of your body are regenerated on a daily basis, other parts take months or years but over the course of about seven years, you get an almost completely new body. So if there is something structural causing a pain problem, why does you body regenerate dysfunction instead of new, healthy tissue? The answer is something is blocking the healing process.

So how can these pain conditions be treated, alleviated and even healed? Read on!

• Diets that include processed and inflammatory foods can contribute to and exacerbate pain conditions. Eliminating certain foods and incorporating others in to your diet can help. 
• Exercise can help stabilize joints and other structures in the body.
  This is the aim of interventions like Physical Therapy.
• Targeted supplementation is another area that can do wonders. How can your body properly heal if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals?
• If you are not getting enough good, restful sleep, your body does not stand a fighting chance to heal itself therefore, proper sleep helps. 
• Acupuncture is another, time tested and proven intervention that can not only alleviate pain but will help your body finally deal with the problem. Acupuncture can re-train the nervous system and short circuit the pain signaling when this is part of the problem. Acupuncture can correct digestive system issues. Even if you are eating the best foods and taking the best supplements available, if your digestive system is compromised, you may not be getting the vital nutrients your body needs to heal. Insomnia responds really well to acupuncture so if this is part of the problem, it is something that can be addressed. An acupuncturist who has been trained in herbs and supplements can be vital in assessing what the problem is and getting you on the proper supplement regimen. 

This is a holistic approach to diagnosing and treating conditions as opposed to reductionist western approaches that often miss the real problem and therefore leave patients to suffer or “get used to” their pain condition.

At Princeton Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, we have an amazing success rate when treating pain. If you, or someone you know, is suffering with a chronic pain condition, make them “aware” there is help. Call today to set up a consultation and we will let you know what we can do for you.