WHAT ARE NATURAL PAINKILLERS?
Painkillers are the powerful drugs important when you want your pain to stop. Natural supplements provide relief without harming the body especially in case of chronic pain. However, before using any natural ingredient for relief from pain, you need to know the source of the pain.
To identify the root cause of pain it is recommended to check with your doctor and describe your symptoms, when they happen, and for how long it’s been affecting you. Once you know the cause of pain, you could work on reducing the pain and related symptoms by the help of physical therapy, exercise, diet changes and natural supplements.
You would have experienced that natural pain relief options provide a great way to complement medical treatments for chronic pain. The natural pain relief options are beneficial as they are easy to try, inexpensive, and have great potential for reducing your pain.
Natural pain treatments include herbal medicine extracted from parts of a plant containing medicinal properties to treat health problems. These are well-liked ways to manage pain as well as decrease inflammation.
Over-the-counter medicines like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are effective pain relievers; however long-term use of these medicines might cause side effects such as being addictive and adverse drug effects.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF NATURAL PAINKILLER?
Natural pain relief treatments have clear benefits which are hard to find with other pain treatment options. By tapping into the power of your body’s self healing ability due to release of natural pain, reducing pigments like endorphins with a little encouragement from treatments which does not include pharmaceuticals help train your body to ease off the pain.
Natural pain relief treatment poses no damage to other systems of the body and does cause awful side effects. Studies have shown that natural pain relief treatment helps in improving everything from vascular functions to mental health such as release of Endorphins which are natural pain relieving hormones secreted by the body. These would bind to the opioid receptors in the brain and block the perception of pain from the affected area. Increased secretion of these hormones would substantially reduce the pain as well as induce profound feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.
Some of the Natural supplements used for pain management of different root cause are:
BACK AND JOINT PAIN
- Turmeric – It is the most commonly used for relieving pain as it reduces inflammation as well as has antibiotic, antiseptic and antioxidant properties. Turmeric is 3 times more effective than ibuprofen and aspirin in reducing pain as its active ingredient curcumin interferes with the process of enzyme action that produces pain-inducing hormones. Turmeric is usually safe but high doses for a long time might lead to indigestion.
- Devil’s claw root – This herb helps in easing the headache, low back pain and common arthritis discomfort as it has anti-inflammatory properties. The side-effects are rare in case of short-term use; however it is not advised to pregnant women and those with gallstones, stomach or intestinal ulcers.
- Capsicum/capsaicin – The capsaicin produced from peppers helps in desensitizing nerve receptors and decreasing the natural substance (substance P) in your body which is responsible for passing pain signals to the brain. It is useful in easing back and muscle or joint pain (arthritis or sprain). Capsaicin works mainly by reducing the skin’s sensitivity to pain by working on the nociceptive fibers that carry pain signals to the brain.
- Glucosamine – This helps in reducing joint pain and increasing range of motion along with chondroitin (part of cartilage in body)
- Ginger – The phyto-chemicals in ginger prevents the production as well as release of pain-triggering hormones and reduces inflammation which causes pain in muscles and joints.
- Chamomile – It has antiseptic and antibiotic properties which help in reducing inflammation as well as relief from headache, muscle or joint pain. Chamomile when consumed as tea provides great relaxation.
HEADACHE
Headache could be caused due to various reasons, thus it is important to know the root cause of the pain in order to decide the relevant treatment.
- White willow bark – It is also known as natural aspirin. It is helpful in reducing headache and fever along with pain in muscles, bones and joints. Salicin is the active ingredient in extract from bark of white willow tree that helps in reducing inflammation and ease the pain. Research shows that 120-140 mg per day is required to reduce pain. It can be consumed in the form of tea, liquid supplement as well as capsule.
- Caffeine – caffeine works best in reducing migraine headaches and tension headaches. However, caffeine withdrawal might also cause headaches.
- Feverfew – It is also known as featherfew or bachelor’s buttons which is a medicinal plant. It is useful in treating fever, migraine headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, toothaches, and stomach aches, and increasing breast milk. It contains compounds such as sesquiterpene lactones and flavonoids, which help in reducing inflammation and muscle spasms. The feverfew flowers and leaves posse’s analgesic, or pain-relieving, properties but high doses might lead to abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and increased risk of bleeding.
FIBROMYALGIA
- Vitamin D – Fibromyalgia would lead to chronic pain with low levels of vitamin D. Taking vitamin D supplement would help in improving the levels of vitamin D as well as cut your pain.
- Cloves – It helps in reducing chronic pain along with treating other pain like headaches, arthritic inflammation, and toothaches. Clove oil is also helpful in treating fungal infection and tooth problems.
ARTHRITIS
- Wintergreen Essential Oil – Methyl Salicylate is the active compound similar to aspirin that helps in relieving pain and inflammation. This is essential in treating chronic nerve pain, headache, arthritis, PMS symptoms, muscle and joint pain.
- Peppermint – It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and pain-relieving properties that help in providing relief from muscular pain, headache and toothache. IT contains active compounds such as carvacrol, menthol, and limonene which provide relief from arthritis.
- Birch Leaf – It is also known as betula lenta. It contains methyl salicylate as an active compound similar to salicylic acid found in aspirin, which is used for treatment of arthritis, lupus, endocrine disorders and kin disease. Birch leaf also helps in increasing the secretion of enzymes that acts as pain-relieving proper along with antifungal, diuretic, astringent and detoxifying properties.
Apart from these ingredients other treatments like heat and ice therapy, acupuncture, massage as well as exercise help in increasing the secretion of endorphins, which are natural painkillers of the body. Essential oils have long been valued for analgesic properties by many people. When these essential oils are combined with traditional treatment therapies, they are proven to provide analgesic effects, including peppermint oil, rosemary, and lavender.
Food also plays a major role in pain management such as including anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, unsaturated fats, whole grains, beans, nuts, and fish oil high in omega-3 fatty acids reduces pain for some people .
OUTLOOK
Since herbal therapies for pain management have not been studied thoroughly, you should be careful while embarking on this treatment path. In spite of the herbal therapies you undertake it is important to keep in mind that they’re not benign.
Not all painkillers are safe or without side-effects. They should be taken in the right dosage for maximum benefit and least adverse effect.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from pain, our expert providers at Specialty Care Clinics will take care of your health and help you recover.
Call us on (469) 545-9983 to book an appointment with our specialists.