The worst aspect of many medical conditions is the pain associated with them. The pain alone can cause a number of effects, such as depression, anxiety and insomnia, which themselves hamper healing. It is therefore often desirable to manage the pain as an entity in itself whilst treating the condition giving rise to the pain. Alternative therapies, in the form of meditation, hypnosis and herbal treatments, all have an important place in the field of pain management.
One of the benefits of natural pain relief remedies is that they are multi-functional, acting on the organism in a wholistic fashion. This means that any particular ingredient will frequently be associated with additional, complementary effects. Thus not only will your herbal solution act on your pain, it may also assist in relieving your anxiety and improve your quality of sleep. As an added benefit, it will generally do this without any toxic effect on other organs and tissues. This is not to say that herbal remedies are entirely without side effects, but these are far rarer and less severe than with allopathic drugs.
This is in contrast to conventional drugs which are frequently associated with unwanted side effects. One possible reason for this is that whilst pharmaceutical agents are directed specifically at one organ or symptom, they are extremely concentrated chemical compounds which frequently and inadvertently impact other systemic interactions within the body. This can lead to their having deleterious effects on bodily systems not being targeted for treatment.
Another downside to treating pain with herbal remedies is the fact that are usually not quick to act. A herbal treatment can take from a few days to a few weeks to have any noticeable effect. This often leads people to assume that the treatment is not working, and to give up before the realising the benefit. Pharmaceutical drugs, on the other hand, have an almost instantaneous impact, which is obvious and which encourages the patient to keep taking the drug. Again however, the point needs to be stressed that pharmaceutical drugs are powerful, concentrated forms of artificially manufactured chemicals which act throughout the body. Even paracetamol, one of the “safest” analgesics available, can cause liver failure and subsequent death if the recommended dose is exceeded.
It goes without saying that herbal treatments are not suitable for every painful condition. Severe, acute pain requires a rapid and dramatic resolution, and is a perfect indication for the short term use of allopathic medicine. Western medicine however is ill suited to treating chronic pain. The powerful drugs have a cumulative impact on the system over time, often resulting in the requirement for further drugs to treat the side effects. There is often also a requirement to treat the associated conditions of depression and anxiety. These additional drugs may themselves have unwanted side effects, requiring additional treatment. And so it begins – the spiral into iatrogenic disease – needing more and more drugs to treat an ever expanding list of side effects unrelated to the original complaint. Chronic pain conditions however are where herbal remedies come into their own – they provide an effective, healthy, wholistic treatment which has helped millions to cope with chronic, debilitating pain that modern medicine was unable to alleviate successfully.
Are herbal treatments for pain relief effective? The answer must be a resounding “Yes!”. There have been a number of scientific studies which have concluded that herbal remedies such as valerian and willow bark do provide pain relief to sufferers. So why is there still so much controversy in this area? One reason is likely to be due to the non-compliance of patients, who, not understanding that herbal remedies take time to work their magic, terminate the treatment before the benefit is obvious and then conclude that herbal remedies “don’t work”. Another reason people sometimes don’t achieve the best results with herbal treatments is that they either use poor quality products, take the wrong dose or prepare them incorrectly. If you want to self-medicate, ensure the product you purchase is of the highest and purest quality, and then follow the directions or seek expert advice. Then there is the fact that different remedies will work differently for different people, and the effect will also differ according to the location and causation of the pain. Because of this it may be necessary to try a number of different alternatives before finding the one that suits you best.
This might sound like far too much trouble. However, if you are suffering from chronic pain, you are likely to require a long term treatment. Herbal remedies are known to work, and to work safely. The side effects associated with the long term use of pharmaceutical analgesics however can be severe and permanent, ranging from tissue damage and organ failure to addiction. Isn’t it worth taking the time to investigate the natural solution?