How to Manage Pain and Injury with Naturopathy

Musculoskeletal pain is unpleasant and can cause significant emotional stress.

Depending on the cause of pain, manual therapy, such as myotherapy can be extremely helpful. In addition, nutritional and herbal medicine can be enormously beneficial for recovery in reducing inflammation and repairing soft tissue.

This article explains what steps you can take to decrease pain and speed recovery time from injury and inflammation.

Why Do You Have Pain?

Pain is caused by inflammation from tissue damage, and is a protective mechanism for prevention against further harm due to injury or disease. When we feel pain, sensory receptors send a message to the brain via nerve fibres, where the sensation of pain is interpreted.

Why is Inflammation an Issue?

Irrespective of the type of pain, the underlying origin is inflammation. When there is inflammation in the body, the immune response causes white blood cells, proteins and other chemicals to flood to the area to protect your body from foreign invaders and repair the damaged tissues. This extra fluid can stimulate nerves and cause pain, heat, redness, swelling, and loss of function.

Sometimes inflammation lingers for longer than necessary and becomes chronic. Chronic inflammation can have whole-body effects, and even contribute to the progression of certain conditions (including arthritis, cardiovascular disorders, anxiety, depression and fatigue).

How Can Naturopathy Help?

Naturopathic Treatment Aims To:

· Reduce inflammatory markers to reduce pressure on nerves, contributing to pain.

· Repair damaged tissues, including cartilage, connective tissue and capillaries.

· Support nutrition status for protein synthesis and cartilage reconstruction.

· Support pain management to improve mood, reduce stress and support sleep.

· Recover joint movement and function and support muscle strength.

· Improve microcirculation to joints to promote healing by increasing transport of nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and remove cellular inflammatory bi-products.

· Reduce vasodilation of capillaries and decrease capillary permeability to reduce leaking of substances that cause swelling.

· Minimize load-bearing exacerbation (Inc. obesity) and lose excess weight (as extra adipose tissue directly causes inflammation).

· Support bone remineralisation.

· Support detoxification pathways and reduce oxidative stress.

· Support and protect the musculoskeletal system to reduce future damage.

What Simple Changes Can You Make Now?

· Load up on anti-inflammatory foods and follow the Mediterranean diet. Ensure plenty of anti-inflammatory omega 3 essential fatty acids (as opposed to inflammatory omega 6s) including salmon, trout, mackerel, chia and linseed oil, macadamia oil, olive oil and walnuts.

· Reduce pro-inflammatory foods such as dairy, red meat, alcohol, sugar and processed foods.

· Include at least 8 glasses of water per day to ensure fluidity of nutrients and excretion of metabolites to and from cells of injured/inflamed sites.

· Use hydrotherapy to support circulation (i.e. alternate hot and cold temperature during showers). This causes vasodilation and vasoconstriction of blood vessels, and allows new nutrient-rich blood to flow to extremities.

· Movement of 20 minutes daily has been shown to reduce inflammation. Increase incidental exercise throughout the day to improve excretion of metabolites and support transfer of essential nutrients and oxygen to your injured/inflamed cells.

· Manage stress and support recovery with magnesium baths.

Powerful Herbs and Nutritional Supplements that Can Support Recovery

Note: This list of treatments are not necessary for everyone. Your naturopath will determine the appropriate treatment for you to support your body's natural healing processes through questioning, examination, pathology investigations and imaging.

· Curcumin - this component of turmeric has a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. Curcumin also supports the liver to detox the body from toxins in the injury site.

· Resveratrol – is a polyphenol that acts as an antioxidant and protects the body against damage from inflammatory conditions.

· Skullcap – a herb used to help relieve both inflammation and insomnia.

· Bromelain – acts as an anti-inflammatory and antioedematous agent via cleaving to and breaking down proteins.

· Ginger - a circulatory stimulant demonstrated to: relieve pain and swelling, relieve muscular pain and discomfort and reduce inflammatory markers of the affected joints.

· Harpagophytum procumbens – acts as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant and sedative.

· Omega 3 EFAs – suppresses the inflammatory response.

· Zinc – reduces inflammatory (cytokine) damage and promotes immune modulation.

· Glucosamine - stimulates cartilage formation and tissue regeneration, as well as reducing tissue inflammation.

· Vitamin C - essential for healthy connective tissue, reduced capillary fragility and easy bruising. Also reduces oxidative stress.

· Lysine – synthesises protein and supports connective tissue, helps the nervous system deal with stress and enhances physical performance.

· Quercetin - anti-inflammatory activity (inhibits the release of inflammatory cytokines from mast cells, as well as histamine, prostaglandins and leukotrienes) and reduces oxidative stress.

· Grape Seed Extract – used for tissue healing; supports connective tissue (by protecting and building collagen and elastin), supports microcirculation, improves capillary integrity and decreases capillary permeability to reduce swelling.

· Magnesium – relaxes muscles and nervous system, replaces electrolytes and improves muscle soreness.

· Salix alba – herb which reduces inflammation, swelling, pain and heat.

· N-acetylcysteine - reduces oxidative damage via glutathione (major antioxidant) synthesis and reduces inflammation in tissues.

· Apium graveolens – commonly known as celery seed; reduces fluid retention, inflammation and swelling.

Can I Have off-the-Shelf Anti-Inflammatories or Supplements from the Pharmacy?

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and Ibuprofen can be effective in reducing both pain and inflammation. However, these often come with unwanted side effects such as stomach pain, gastritis, stomach ulcers/bleeding, heartburn, headaches and dizziness, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure and allergic reactions.

Naturopathic treatments, in general, such as herbal medicine and nutritional supplements are known to be less invasive, less toxic and more natural than conventional pharmaceuticals. Therefore, negative side-effects tend to be minimal. Naturopaths have access to practitioner-only products. These treatments usually have more scientific evidence, with ingredients of higher quality, higher bioavailability and manufacturing standards than off-the-shelf vitamins and supplements. For these reasons, practitioner-only products are seen to have superior efficacy.

Did You Know?

· Ginger and turmeric have been known to enhance the drug effectiveness (additive effect) of NSAIDs (by inhibiting COX & LOX pathways).

· Grapeseed extract  enhances antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory activity of aspirin and may increase the risk of bleeding.   

Conclusive Thoughts

This article is intended to be informative only. Consult with your healthcare practitioner before you make any decisions regarding your health.

If you are interested in trying Naturopathy to reduce pain and support inflammatory conditions, Lauren Daye is a degree-qualified Naturopath who has a keen interest in assisting people with musculoskeletal pain and exercise performance.

Lauren DayeFebruary 29, 2020INJURY, PAIN, NATUROPATHY, INFLAMMATION, HEALTH, Healthcare