When I was in my early twenties, (I am 51 now), I seriously injured my back. I laid in bed, in traction, for 10 months. It was a very difficult time in my young husband's and my lives. I was unable to work or at times even walk. He was responsible for every thing in the household. I have subsequently had several more very serious accidents and injuries that have left me with a great deal of pain.
My official diagnoses include multiple herniated disks, advanced arthritis, degenerative disk disease, fibromyalgia, scoliosis, torn tendons, hyper-flexible joints and nerve damage. I'm not looking for sympathy, rather I'm making this public so that those reading this will understand that I understand pain from a very personal perspective!
I tend to look toward natural remedies and methods for help with controlling my pain, especially since I am allergic to most medical doctor's medications. I have done well with some specific medications and treatments that I will share, but most of what I do is "all natural." I use a variety of essential oils, plus I take a number of supplements to help me function well enough to help my family. I have served in a house parent capacity at a couple of Christian children's homes where we cared for up to 10 children at a time -- all this with my debilitating condition.
I'm going to list the things that I do and use that help keep the pain under control and keep me going, in no particular order.
1. Stretching and using acupressure mats. I have two of the Kendal Acupressure Massage Mats, pictured below.
I have two because one is just a bit short for me. I'm 5' 7." If the person that will be using it is taller than about 5' 4," I would recommend the longer product they have available at the same link. It was unavailable when I purchased mine several years ago. This is a minimal investment for a significant amount of pain relief.
I lay on my mats and stretch my back by rocking my lower back side to side, pulling my knees up to my chest and holding them there, and mostly just moving back and forth to get maximum contact with the pressure points on the mats. Here's an example of one stretch that I do. I use my mat for about 15 minutes a day, to help with the pain and stiffness in my back.
2. Strain / Counter Strain, ("Jones Therapy"), technique is another modality I have been able to enjoy the benefits of for about a decade now. I went through about a year of Jones therapy many years ago. The goal of this therapy is to not only relieve chronic pain, but to teach the patient how to manage their own condition. This results in eventual release from the therapist's services. This technique was life-changing for me. If it is possible to get Jone's Therapy in a local area, I cannot recommend it more highly. I did so well with it, I seriously considered becoming a licensed physical therapist. However Father God had different plans for us. I have been able to help many of my friends along the way, though, by doing "releases" for them and teaching them how to do it for themselves.
3. Essential oils for pain relief is another thing I use to help deal with my chronic pain. There are several individual oils I use, as well as, several blends that I find helpful in pain control. I do not use any of the MLM oil companies because there are several very reasonably priced, high quality brands on the market, and frankly, I don't believe the MLM's hype. Below is pictured my #1 favorite oil for pain control, Now Brand Wintergreen Oil.
Depending on the surface area I need it to cover, I will either use it "neat," which is undiluted, for small areas, like my knees, or I will use about 3 or 4 drops with about the same amount of almond oil for larger applications, like my back or shoulders. I can pretty much reach everywhere I need to have it applied, but it is nice to have some help with this for hard to reach areas.
I use Now Brand Frankincense on my knees combined with the wintergreen oil, daily. Frankincense has been shown to help knee cartilage regenerate. My personal experience tells that it surely does help with the pain control with my knees!
I use about 2 drops of it added to the wintergreen oil as I mentioned above. This, along with the next item on my list that I will describe, boron, has actually regenerated my knees.
Another good oil is peppermint. It is very cooling, and helps with swelling and infammation. It helps relieve pain and is good for tummy aches, as well. I use it both "neat" and with almond oil as a carrier oil.
I keep Now's Mental Focus oil in my car because it helps with a number of things besides mental clarity. It has peppermint in it, so I put it on my tummy when I get carsick. It also has wintergree in it, so I put it on my neck or back if they are hurting in the car, as well. It's a great multi-purpose oil. I do use it "neat," straight from the bottle, when I'm in the car and only use 1-2 drops at a time. If I had to pick only one oil to have on hand, this would be the one.
4. I use boron daily for my arthritis. I recently had a scan done of my knees and lower back, which had been so severely bound up with arthritis that the doctors wanted to do a double knee replacement on me. This recent scan showed minimal inflammation. That's a miracle! I was diagnosed with advanced arthritis when I was 30 years old, (I'm 51 now), and now it is negligible. I credit this to boron used as a supplement.
In this article, Boron VS. Arthritis by Dr. Rex Newnham, he describes what he believes is an epidemic of arthritis in America due to boron deficiency. In short he says that bones that are deficient in boron become soft and develop arthritis. Healthy bones and joints have large amounts of boron in their composition, and they are disease free.
There are two ways to take boron, which really is up to personal preference. The first, and least expensive option would be to use one tablespoon of the diluted boron liquid described in Dr. Newnham's article a day. The formula for dilution is: In a quart glass jar with a lid, put in 1 teaspoon of 20 Mule Team Borax, and fill it the rest of the way with purified or spring water. Below is the product to which I am referring. (I wouldn't recommend purchasing it from Amazon, as it is readily available at most markets for about $3 a box.)
The other option is to use a boron supplement. This is the option my husband chooses. Below is the product he uses to help with the pain from the arthritis in his knees.
Both methods have helped my husband and myself with the pain from arthritis in our knees and back.
A word of caution: Please follow the dosage instructions in Dr. Newnham's article carefully, being especially careful about starting slowly and increasing gradually! Believe me, detox symptoms are a bear.
5. Yoga stretches are an important component in my back pain relief program I have developed over the years. I do some extremely simple positions. None are on the ground because I am not able to get off the ground on my own at this point. However, years ago I was able to do laying and seated poses on the ground. If the person who is suffering from back and joint pain is able to do so, those poses would be useful as well. Here is a useful article on the topic. Be sure to let pain be the guide. Don't do anything that causes pain!
At this point, I am only able to do two of the poses in the linked article above: The standing forward fold and the downward dog. I, also, do the tree pose, only standing on both feet not one, as shown here. Here is another helpful article about the simple yoga stretches for back pain. I can do most of these stretches. Finally, this article has a lot of the stretches that I am able to do at this time.
6. Boswelia Extract, which is the resin of the Boswelia tree and another form of Frankinsence, is something I have recently added into my back pain control regimen. It is an excellent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. I take 500 mg twice daily of Now brand Boswelia Extract. I can tell it is helping me pretty quickly.
7. Magnesium has been an important part of my back pain control program for as long as I can remember. Over the years I have taken many different kinds, but I recently learned that different forms of magnesium perform different functions. Magnesium malate is specific for helping with pain and inflammation, and it really does help! I take the recommended dosage of Source Naturals Magnesium Malate. It hits my system almost immediately because of the easily digested capsule. I can really feel it working.
8. Another recommendation I have for someone with chronic back and joint pain is to deal with the emotional components of the issue. I use Flower Essences, also called Flower Remedies or Bach Remedies, to help me with feelings of being overwhelmed and experiencing trauma related to being ill or injured for long time, and the shock of having to deal with the injury and trauma. This is the article I wrote about the topic. I would encourage anyone dealing with chronic pain to address this part of their condition. My flower essences enable me to say, "I can!" When in the past, I would have said, "I can't."
9. I know that people don't like to change their diets, but avoiding inflammatory foods and including anti-inflammatory foods is another big factor to consider. Certain foods that cause me inflammation and pain are the typical "no nos" that are mentioned when considering inflammation in the diet. Things like, white sugar, white flour, highly processed foods including processed dairy products, (not all dairy products are bad), are not good for a person who is struggling with pain and inflammation. It's helpful to be aware of when the pain is bad and to try to see if any food item could be the culprit. For me, a few things that one might not think of being the cause of inflammation and pain would be bacon, even the "all natural" type because I can't eat old meat. In fact, I can't eat leftovers beyond one day old, as I experience a tremendous leap in my pain level when I do. Other foods that bother me are peppers and cooked tomato products.
Foods that are anti-inflammatory are things that are good sources of pro- and pre-biotic foods. These are things like homemade bone broth, (my recipe here), homemade yogurt, fresh and frozen berries, and dark green and dark orange vegetables.
Addressing any food intolerances would be wise, as allergies can cause increased pain and inflammation.
10. Inversion therapy is an excellent option. I have used it for years. It can actually cause disk herniations to "suck back in." I have personally experienced this on a number of occasions. The sooner after my back "slips" that I can get on the table, the better chance I have of it not even setting me back for a full day instead of being stuck in bed for 10 months! I have an inversion table very similar to the one pictured below.
Again, use pain as the guiding line. If it hurts too much, just don't do it. I can only go to a partially inverted position. Start slowly and work to the deepest incline that is tolerated.
11. Breathing and relaxing are really important with any injury, especially of the spine. The body needs added oxygen to heal, and it is important to relax so the muscles don't get bound up in knots. When I'm really hurting, I try to remember to take deep, slow breaths, focusing on the area that is in pain. I relax and breathe, and try to release the pain, and let the Holy Spirit work.
12. Walking is really important with lower back pain especially. My husband has a chronic lower back condition, and when it flares up, walking is his best defense. He can go from the point of hardly being able to walk at all, to functioning almost normally in a couple of days with going for about a 10 minute walk several times a day.
13. Ice and heat are, also, important in the healing process, as well as sitting on furniture that doesn't cause pain. Unfortunately, with the furniture issues, a person can't always tell until they've sat on it if a particular chair is going to be a problem. I once blew out my lower back very badly by sitting on a couch that was bad for me. I always said afterwards that "the couch ate my back." I went to a chiropractor the next day, which I will discuss in the next topic, and he put it back in. I didn't ever have to see him again, but I had to alternate ice and heat for about a week. He told me to do 20 minutes ice, then 20 minutes of heat every hour during the time I was awake. Thankfully, I had a friend that could take care of me during the week, and it only took that week for me to be back to normal.
13. Chiropractic, massage and acupuncture are really good options for pain control with back injuries. They work the very best if they can be done in conjunction with each other. Deep tissue and medical massage are better than the simple relaxing massages, as far as healing goes. There are many different types of chiropractic available. I have experienced benefit from all of them. My favorite of the three modalities listed here, though, would be acupuncture. I experienced healing benefits that lasted not days or weeks, but weeks and months with acupuncture. I was very fortunate to find practitioners that were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
14. Alpha and Omega 9D Analyzer, or the A/O 9 D, is a cutting edge technology for all body systems, and I am currently receiving much benefit from its use. It can actually scan and correct imbalances in a bodily system via electronic frequencies. The company can be contacted to see if there is a practitioner nearby.
15. Prescription medications can be useful. I don't recommend staying on them for long periods, as they often have unknown, possibly severe side effects. Personally, I have many, many medication allergies that range in severity from rashes, itching and hives to near-deathly anaphylactic reactions. However, I am currently taking two prescriptions to help me with pain control. I take Meloxicam daily for my arthritis. I, also, take Tramadol, which is a general pain medication. It is stronger than acetaminophen or ibuprofen, but not the same class as narcotic pain medications and without the severe drowsiness and dopiness that they can cause. I am currently trying to get away from these medicines because I know that long-term use is unwise. That being said, pain control is important. If the measures listed above don't provide relief, then sometimes prescription pain medication can be useful to promote healing. It's difficult for the body to heal when it's screaming in pain.
16. I also use Hyland Leg Cramp pills. I know that they are marketed for leg cramps, but I have found that they help with back spasms, as well. My husband and I both use them as needed. The only caveat is not to take them when having anything minty, like brushing teeth because they are homeopathic. I take 2 every 4 hours when my back is having spasms, but everyone needs to find what their correct dosage is.
17. Surgery would be the last resort, in my opinion, although I have very recently learned that the surgical options are much different than when I had my back surgery in 1990. Disk herniations are now able to be fixed laparoscopically rather than a large open incision as they were before.
I hope this information is beneficial and helps someone along the road to full recovery.
Note: Many of the links above are affiliate links and purchase of the products would go to support my efforts here.
