Natural Pain Management

What is pain management?

At some point in life, most people would experience pain, either due to illness, injury, or their body’s wear and tear, which may prevent them from having a life. Pain management is a form of healthcare which specifically helps patients get through this stage. Bringing together several disciplines such as physical therapy, anesthesiology, surgery, chiropractic care, and neurology, pain management seeks to lessen pain and treat its causes and bring back the patient’s capacity to function.

How is pain management done?

Pain management starts with the comprehensive diagnosis of a patient’s condition. In order to do this, doctors first evaluate a patient’s medical history, as well as conduct physical and neurological tests. From these data, healthcare providers are able to get a general idea as to what the pain may be attributed to. Consequently, patients may also be asked to undergo imaging tests such as X-rays, PET scans, and MRI scans for further diagnostic validation. Upon obtaining a clear understanding of the condition, physicians may prescribe pain medications, recommend rehabilitative or interventional therapies, or endorse patients for surgery, depending on the underlying cause and severity of the pain.

What is natural pain management?

Natural pain management is the practice of pain management without including medications, described as being drug-free. Natural pain management is founded on the principle of stimulating the body’s natural restorative capacities as being more preferential than artificially, or chemically induced measures. The treatment focuses on more basic roots of pain such as malnutrition, lack of sleep, and stress, and thus may include lifestyle-related adjustments. Natural pain management also utilizes treatment modalities similarly used in conventional pain management schemes, such as chiropractic care and physical therapy, in addition to using alternative medicines.

What are natural pain management treatments?

Depending on individual patients’ conditions, different treatments may be administered. Natural pain management usually requires more patient participation in the healing process (due to necessitating more personal measures such as dietary changes) compared to conventional pain management, but it is still good to approach a trained physician regarding possible natural pain management options before deciding to do so. The reason for this is that some natural pain management treatment such as certain herbal products interfere with usual medication, or that some conditions require more drastic measures such as surgery to avoid permanent tissue damage. In the interest of understanding all your options, natural pain management treatments involve one or more of the following:

• Chiropractic treatment – a type of care which deals with treating neuromuscular problems, usually including mechanical spinal adjustments or manipulations.
• Physical therapy – form of treatment which also involves mechanical manipulations of muscles and joints, but instead focuses on massages, stretches and exercises to correct or ease tissue strain
• Acupuncture – ancient Chinese treatment method involving pricking certain points in the body with thin needles in order to improve the flow of energy across the body.
• Herbal remedy – the medicinal use of plant matter to treat a variety of pain-causing illnesses and conditions, commonly in the form of raw plants, tonics, or extracts.
• Nutritional counselling – an natural pain management approach to care which seeks to identify an individual’s dietary deficiencies or excesses (e.g. high sugar intake) which possibly worsen existing medical conditions in order to recommend personal measures to correct them through healthier food choices
• Lifestyle counselling – as part of the idea of holistic treatment, patients may be encouraged by physicians to make significant lifestyle changes (e.g. leaving a job that is too physically stressful) so as to provide the body with more resources with which to repair itself (e.g. sleep)

Where can I get natural pain management care?

Are you considering to get natural pain management care? Dr. Kevin Li, MD, a Los Angeles-based pain management specialist, may be of help to you. His wide experience in treating patients with varying conditions over the last decade guarantees the best natural pain management care could be yours, from diagnosis, to treatment. Dr. Li’s holistic, patient-centered approach would also mean you get treatments specifically suited to your needs and circumstances. So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with his clinic today at (626) 538 – 8950 for an appointment! Let him take care of you, and watch your pain go away!