Invisible Conditions: Managing Chronic Pain with Complimentary Therapies

Article written for the Chew Valley Gazette, January 2020 

Most people these days will know at least one person with an “invisible condition”, even if they are not aware of who that person is. One of the most difficult to diagnose, manage and understand is Chronic Pain.

The root causes of Chronic Pain are extremely varied, and this in itself often makes diagnosis slow and treatment very difficult. Injury, side effects of treatments or medication, surgeries, neurological damage – any and all of these can lead to a patient experiencing frequent or persistent pain. There are also a number of “Chronic Pain Conditions”; Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Arthritis, MS, Hyper Mobility Syndrome and more, which all too often can take months or even years to diagnose.

CVT Practice Manage Pam Sayer (seated) has been
managing a Chronic Pain condition with the help of
regular treatments from Osteopath Belind Eyers
(standing) for over 12 years.

Living with Chronic Pain is extremely challenging, both physically and emotionally. People often find it difficult to understand or believe that someone can experience pain for such a long time when there is “nothing to see”. Pain usually makes movement difficult and can dramatically limit what activities a person can do or for how long, as well as causing a widespread feeling of exhaustion, which often manifests as impatience and sort temper in the patient. Perversely, certain Chronic Pain conditions can actually make a patient look extremely well and healthy with a rosy complexion and bright sparkling eyes, making gaining understanding and support from friends, family, colleagues and even medical professionals very difficult.

Our mainstream medical service is geared to deal with acute conditions, so many with long term pain issues turn to complimentary medicine to help manage their conditions, as, while pain relieving medication most definitely has its place, many patients do not want to be taking it for long periods, or it does not do enough to allow the patient to function at a comfortable level. Therapies that promote both physical and emotional relaxation can be extremely useful in helping a patient manage their pain, and often allows them to gain a better understanding of it, which in turn improves their control of it.

A number of the therapies available at Chew Valley Therapies Practice can be part of a successful pain management regime, whether in combination or as stand alone treatments. It should be noted however that the efficacy of any therapy is dependent on the patient’s commitment to it, as chronic conditions are best managed with long term “maintenance” treatment which can be regular but infrequent.
 

Complimentary Therapies for Young People

There is a very common misconception that Complimentary Therapies are only suitable for adults because young, growing bodies are too delicate and sensitive for such things. This could not be further from the truth.

Complimentary Therapies are much more gentle, far less invasive and are far more natural and hence less toxic than the majority of mainstream medicines can be, and can help with a wide range of complaints, from age 0 to 100!

Complimentary Therapists treat every patient holistically, looking at the whole person, not just the specific complaint. Great importance is given to the age of the patient as there will be different nutritional requirements and treatment indicated for children and adolescents in comparison to adults; for example, where exercises to help strengthen an area weakened after injury are prescribed, a child or teenager must do only what has been instructed with accuracy as bones in the younger body are still growing and the muscles have to keep pace with the bone growth. Whereas an adult might be encouraged to do the same exercises for as long they can manage, increasing the repetitions throughout the week as they become easier, as the focus is purely on gaining strength – allowance for growth is not needed.

Soft tissue injuries are extremely common in children and adolescents, with healing often made difficult by growth spurts, coupled with the patient’s natural desire to get back to normal activity before their injury is fully recovered. Growth spurts themselves can cause pain and dysfunction in joints, particularly the feet, where poor foot function is often seen, created by ill-fitting shoes, or even the occurrence of a painful verruca. Hormone, vitamin and mineral imbalances are also frequently seen in this age group and can cause a wide variety of symptoms which are often treated with medication when, far less invasively, a change in the diet at this early point in life may have a much better long term outcome. Osteopathy, Nutritional Advice, Acupuncture, Chiropody and even Massage can all help, individually or in any combination, to lessen the impact of these issues and improve general health and wellbeing.