What Causes Chronic Pain & How To Naturally Treat It

Chronic pain is debilitating and affects millions of people every day. In 2021, an estimated 20.9 percent of U.S. adults experienced chronic pain, according to the CDC. Chronic pain can be caused by numerous factors, such as inflammation, injuries, stress, lack of sleep, and environmental causes. If not treated, it can leave you debilitated and unable to function normally. In this article, I will explain where chronic pain comes from and how you can naturally treat it.

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain you experience for over 3 months in a consistent spot of multiple spots within your body. It can happen anywhere in your body. Chronic pain can negatively affect your work life and daily activities, create stress, anxiety, and depression, and make sleeping difficult. There is a difference between acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain happens when you get physically hurt, like a cut, scrap, or broken bone. It does not last long or goes away after a short period. Chronic pain last longer after the first initial onset of pain. Sometimes for no obvious reason.

What are the Main Causes of Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain can be from injuries, illnesses, and conditions like arthritis and RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis). These conditions cause ongoing pain and are treatable. Injuries and diseases can cause changes to your body, leaving you in pain after the injury or illness has subsided. Even a brief infection can leave you with chronic pain.

Some chronic pain is not due to a physical condition. Healthcare providers call this psychogenic pain or psychosomatic pain. It is due to stress, anxiety, and depression. Many scientists believe this is connected to people having low levels of positive emotion evoking endorphins in their blood. Also, severe trauma can bring on chronic pain as the stress can send your mind and body into a sustained state of inflammation leading to lasting chronic pain.

It is also possible to have more than one reason for chronic pain. Also, a combination of multiple causes.

What are the symptoms of Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain can come in many forms and appear across your body. Common types of chronic pain include;

● Arthritis or joint pain

● Back pain

● Neck pain

● Cancer pain near tumor sight.

● Headaches/migraines

● Testicular pain (Orchialiga)

● Scar tissue pain

● Muscle pain, like from fibromyalgia

● Neurogenic pain from nerve damage or other parts of the nervous system.

Within these conditions, you can feel symptoms such as:

● Aching

● Burning

● Shooting

● Squeezing

● Stiffness

● Stinging

● Throbbing

These symptoms can also bring different feelings, such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, and mood swings. These symptoms should not be taken lightly and should be treated effectively. If the symptoms get worse, they can debilitate your quality of life.

How is food connected to Chronic Pain?

What we eat is connected to chronic pain through inflammation. When we consume foods that our body cannot process completely, it creates an inflammatory response. The more you have these inflammatory responses over time, they make small amounts of chronic pain.

Consuming ultra-processed foods and high amounts of sugar is inflammatory in our gut and increases our blood's oxidation, leading to higher pain frequency. Some other ingredients to look out for are preservatives, artificial sweeteners, seed oils, gluten, and sugar, all contributing to a higher amount of inflammation In the blood.

How to naturally heal and treat Chronic Pain?

1. Relax: when it comes to chronic pain, we must first understand how tense we are and how much damage is done through our consistent motions and tight muscles. Along with this managing our stress and emotions will dramatically decrease pain. If you struggle with fast and tense muscles, it is a good idea to try body scan meditation, where you focus on relaxing the tight parts of your body. Do this type of meditation 1-3 times a week for 10 minutes. This will teach you to calm your body and train your mind to control your emotions.

a. If you struggle with mental health issues, please seek help to get on the correct path. Finding a good therapist or health coach is essential.

2. Eliminate Processed Foods: Processed foods contain large amounts of inflammatory ingredients and sugar which can contribute to higher amounts of inflammation. This leads to a high tendency of pain. Eliminating these foods and finding healthy alternatives can greatly decrease pain and increase your body's antioxidant profile, increasing the healing properties your body needs.

3. Incorporate Whole Foods: Whole foods are the foundation of our health. Incorporating the correct amount of amino acids, fatty acids, and antioxidants can drastically decrease pain and improve mobility and strength. Listed below are the foods I recommend for chronic pain

a. Grass-fed beef

b. Grass-fed beef organs (liver, pancreas, heart, kidney, bone marrow)

c. Salmon

d. Bone Broth

e. Berries (all berries)

f. Avocados

g. Leafy Greens (organic and washed)

h. Lemons, oranges, grapefruit

i. Pomegranates, cherries

j. Beets

k. Pumpkin, sweet potatoes, butternut squash

Food varies from person to person, but by incorporating the cleanest and most bioavailable food, you can alleviate the symptoms of chronic pain.

4. Stretch Daily: Resting and moving your body daily will help keep your muscles flexible and help with recovery. The more relaxed you are, the more room your ligaments, tendons, and bones have to move. Taking 10-20 minutes to stretch daily is a great way to decrease chronic pain.

a. Stretching helps to elongate our muscles resulting in greater flexibility and less chronic pain. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recommends at least 30 minutes of stretching thrice weekly for flexibility.

5. Incorporate The Correct Supplements: Supplements are a great way to get the nutrients you can't get in your diet to help with chronic pain and improve other aspects of our health. Below are the supplements I recommend if you struggle with chronic pain. ** Please ask your doctor if you are on prescription medications before you take any supplements listed below.

a. Minerals

b. Glucosamine

c. Boswellia

d. Turmeric

e. Fish oil

f. Collagen

g. CBD

h. Alpha lipoic acid

i. Amino acids

j. B-complex

Now I recommend taking only some of these supplements. Do your research on what you feel would be best for you to create your supplement protocol.

Chronic pain is debilitating and can be depressing in your life. Getting on the right plan can be all you need to get the relief you need and get back to the life you want to be living.