Health is said to depend on the balance flow of energies in the body. In the principle of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), if the flow of qi (also called chi or ki), the body’s energy that flows along several channels of the body, on the meridians is blocked or unbalanced, it can cause pain or illnesses. The practice is also generally based on the principle that the body is a representation of yin and yang and that the body system act as one integrated so when a part or organ is in pain, it is important to consider the whole system.
More and more people are seeking options to treat their pain naturally. One of the most common natural ways to correct the balance of energy in the body is Acupuncture. Acupuncture was first used traditionally in China over 2,500 years ago to prevent, diagnose and treat disease, as to improve overall wellness. The process of acupuncture involves stimulating specific points on the body by inserting very thin needles through the skin. TCM explains that the imbalance flow of energy in the body will be corrected by inserting needles into specific points along these meridians where energy is blocked. Acupuncture is known to relieve other chronic pain associated with diseases such as: headache, stress, low back pain, anxiety, and neck pain. Acupuncture treatment has been used in conjunction to western in Europe, North America, Japan, other Asian countries.
Another natural therapy that is effective in releasing chronic pain is the Japanese Shiatsu. The process is a bodywork therapy which means “finger pressure” in Japanese but the principle of Shiatsu is also based in TCM. Shiatsu bodywork uses fingers, elbows, palms, or knees to apply pressure to the part of the body where the energy is believed to be blocked. It is believed that the right amount of pressure and meridian stretches helps the flow to return to normal and balance excess or blocked energy. Unlike other form of bodywork, Shiatsu does not use oil but rather loose comfortable clothes can be worn throughout the whole session that can last from 30 to 90 minutes. Shiatsu can also be used to relieve muscle chronic pain disorders such as the Myofascial Pain Syndrome where a person experiences pain in the muscle when pressure is put on sensitive points in the body.
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) is also one of the natural procedures used by doctors and massage therapists. The process of CST is used to enhance the body’s natural way of healing itself. Like with Acupuncture and Shiatsu, CST relieves deep pain and tension and improves the overall wellness of the body. A light pressure is believed to improve the cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid around the brain and spinal cord, and helps calm the whole body system and release emotional stress from past traumas and painful experiences.
Like CST, Chiropractic is a form of an alternative medicine and therapy that mainly involves adjustments or manipulations to the spine and other parts of the body that is connected to the nervous system. One of the goals of this practice is to improve the body’s ability to heal itself. When the spine is properly aligned, it allows the nerves travelling through the spine to flow and transmit information to our body. If a nerve is being compressed due to misalignment in the spine, that nerve will not be able to deliver the information from our brain to the body. Chiropractic is a great therapy for those who experience chronic stress or pain as it targets the nervous system which contains the brain and the spinal cord. This natural therapy calms the fight or flight of the parasympathetic system which helps manage stress and improve overall health.
Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, a trained Iranian medical doctor at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School of London University also claimed the medicinal value of water in treating pain. While on prison, Dr. Batmanghelidj discovered the water cure therapy by treating inmates with peptic ulcer pain with water when medication wasn’t available. In this principle, Dr. Batmanghelidj believed that dehydration is the root cause of most pain and many ailments. He also mentioned that a dry mouth is not a reliable indicator of dehydration. Instead, the body signals its water shortage by producing pain. Dehydration actually produces pain and many degenerative diseases, including asthma, arthritis, hypertension, angina, adult-onset diabetes, lupus and multiple sclerosis.
Another interesting water practice is the Japanese Water Therapy. Most illness and diseases stems from an unhealthy gut. The Japanese Water Therapy helps in cleaning the stomach and boosting the gut health. In addition, the Traditional Japanese Medicine believes that early mornings are the “golden hour” on which it is highly recommended to drink water on an empty stomach right after waking up early in the morning. This natural therapy recommends following these steps to treat minor pains and improve overall health condition:
Sometimes, the health care industry doesn’t really understand all the things that cause pain. Even with a lot of testing, the cause of pain remains unsolved but that doesn't mean that there isn't a cause. Proper diagnosis and treatment should take into account a person’s lifestyle, nutrition, work and leisure activities, current and past stressors, and relevant previous injuries. This means that proper treatment of acute pains address the root causes of each person’s pain and its manifestations. Treatment may include the use various combinations of dietary recommendations and nutritional supplements with various modalities natural therapies to help reduce the pain it causes and treat the source of the illness.