Acupuncture Pain Relief Management - 10 Tips For Pain That Will Not Go Away

Acupuncture has been shown to be very good at relieving pain. It is also good for the management of aches that will not go away.

Although it is nature's peculiar way of telling us that we are in danger or we are hurt, you would expect that once we are healed, the soreness should clear up. But in some cases, it will just not go away.

So what can we do to help ourselves manage, control or relieve the ache?

First of all, medical attention is necessary. In addition, there are other things you can do to help yourself. These will also help doctors formulate a treatment plan to suit you. Below are 10 things you can do to help yourself.

1. Be more attentive to the character of the soreness, where it hurts exactly or how you are affected.
2. Know what makes the affected area better or worse.
3. Identify the things that could be lowering your pain threshold or making your condition worse. For example, your condition worsens when you are cold, tired or when under stress. So limiting these stressors will help you cope.
4. Identify accurately the type of ache, whether it is a sharp stabbing pain, whether it is aching, throbbing, burning or crushing.
5. Take note of the day and time soreness starts, whether it is there all the time, what sets if off and how it affects your daily life.
6. Most importantly, you must inform your doctor, whether s/he is a Chinese medicine doctor or Western medicine doctor, all the medications, herbs or remedies you are taking.
7. Get plentiful sleep, which is usually interfered with, so sometimes it is difficult to get a good night's rest which makes the following day just as bad. This is important because sleep allows painful body parts to rest, it allows damaged tissues to heal and it restores your ability to cope with discomfort. A cat-nap, which a short rest of about 30 minutes during the day can be helpful.
8. Reduce stress -- stress from work, family, relationship or even household duties can all increase the severity of the illness. Stress reduction techniques such as tai chi, dao yin, chi kung, yoga, meditation, relaxation or breathing exercises will help. Our moods does affect the way we perceive discomfort or our pain threshold. On the other hand, constant ache does affect our moods, making us irritable, or depressed.
9. Improve your diet -- balance your diet with a wide range of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. If you have noticed that your soreness is worse with some foods, then you should try to avoid them. For example, some arthritis sufferers have reported exacerbation in discomfort levels after having eaten common foods such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or have been exposed to tobacco smoke. Drink at least 8 glasses of pure water each day. Don't dull the soreness with alcohol.
10. Get some gentle exercise -- some people say exercise or gentle stretching helps them manage their condition and others say exercise worsens it. The key is to do gentle movements that stretches the body, for example tai chi or dao yin, and combine the exercise with breathing to help ease soreness. We know that endorphins, the natural chemicals that make us feel good, are released with exercise so that helps to reduce pain levels.

If you have muscles or joints that have been weakened by disease, illness or arthritis, consider exercises that will strengthen the body part affected as well as the surrounding structures. Again, go easy. Slowly and steadily wins the race.

Pier Tsui-Po

Pier Tsui-Po is a registered acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine practitioner. More information on pain relief or arthritis is available at http://www.acupuncture-and-you.com