Chronic pain persists for longer than six months. Besides pain medications, the American Academy of Family Physicians offers this list of additional treatment options:
• Physical therapy, including stretching and strengthening exercises.
• Low-impact exercise, including swimming, biking and walking.
• Occupational therapy to learn how to change daily activities to avoid making the pain worse.
• Behavioral therapy, such as yoga and meditation, to increase relaxation and decrease stress.
• Lifestyle changes, including quitting smoking, getting plenty of sleep, eating a proper diet and getting enough exercise.
The information above is cited from the HealthDay News at vitacost.com .
Treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
1. Acupuncture on local and distal points can reduce tension and stiffness; also improve circulation and relieve the chronic pain.
2. Chinese meridian massage helps you to relax and be calm, decrease stress, maintain strength and flexibility in the muscles and joints so as to prevent the muscle loss and weakness from a lack of activities due to the chronic pain.
3. Chinese herbs also can improve circulation, reduce the inflammation and relieve the chronic pain as well. Therefore, herbs usually are used between two treatments.
4. Using the herbal healing bag which has both cold and heat functions in one. This is a unique herbal bag with multi-healing functions. Use the herbal bag cold to limit swelling, redness and reduce acute pain, it is good for inflamed and swollen joints. Use the herbal bag heated to increase blood circulation, warm and relax muscles so as to relieve the chronic pain and stiffness.
For more information, please call Dr. Lu of Ping’s Acupuncture & Herb Center at 661-513-9265.