Natural Strategies for Reducing Chronic Pain


By Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, PhD, PT, IMT, C Nancy Ortolani, PT, IMT,C


enjoying our life. The incidence of persons suffering from chronic pain in our country is very high which is evidenced by the frequent use of NSAID medication for pain relief and cortisone injections. We search high and low for ways to alleviate our pain. We visit doctors and therapists. Many take drugs or drink alcohol to take the edge off the pain. We reduce our activities, and try heat and cold packs. Many will visit a pain clinic. Some pain clinics have an alter- native approach such as acupuncture or Reiki, but most are limited to a more traditional approach. Pain clinics typically administer extensive pain medications, including narcotics and pain patches. People are often told it’s in their head or that there is no cure for their pain and “you have to learn to live with it.” The source of chronic pain could be derived from so many things—an old car accident or back injury, or even a medical condi- tion such as fibromyalgia, arthritis (rheumatory or osteoarthritis), Lyme disease, or another auto-immune disorder. Medications often


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very one of us has experienced some kind of pain in our lives, whether it is headaches, back pain or joint pain. For many of us, this pain is persistent and chronic. It keeps us from fully


reduce pain by some percentage but typically they do not lead to full pain relief and the person’s quality of life is not generally re- stored by pain medications. These individuals are commonly referred to psychiatrists for pharmaceutical options and for other pain relief approaches such as relaxation techniques to help work through the pain. Before beginning different therapies, they may wait to see how they heal with time. After some time, they may resume their activi- ties with some remaining symptoms such as stiffness or reduced but persistent pain. Often, there is a cumulative effect from multiple injuries, such as a football injury from high school, a bad fall, mul- tiple car accidents, and so on. For optimal healing, it is best to begin treatment immediately following an accident or injury. There are many natural and non-invasive treatment strategies that can be implemented to help reduce and eliminate chronic pain long term.


Manual Therapy for Chronic Pain In the last couple of decades, there has been a significant shift Your Morning Coffee?


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in our general health. There seems to be more cases of infection and inflammation induced illness, for example, Lyme disease, fibromy- algia, and other auto-immune disorders. Whereas, historically, a person would walk into a Physical Therapy clinic with a ‘clear-cut’ history of a car accident or back injury, today, our histories are much more complex. We complicate these injuries with additional inflammatory syndromes that can prolong healing. Using solely a traditional approach today is often not enough to help us reach optimal health. In some instances, a traditional ap- proach is very aggressive and invasive. Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) is a gentle hands-on therapy that can identify underlying causes for chronic pain. By using IMT to treat these underlying problems, relief from chronic pain can be achieved. For example, when there are biomechanical or joint prob- lems at the pelvis, sacrum, and low back, a traditional approach of stretching and exercise can stretch out stiff muscles and looser joints but often this type of approach does not affect the tight joints which may be more contributing to the person’s pain and symptoms. Smooth and painless movement comes from normal joint mobility and alignment.


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