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Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Pain

by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center

A growing body of evidence suggests that some complementary approaches, such as acupuncture, hypnosis, massage, mindfulness meditation, spinal manipulation, chiropractic, tai chi, and yoga, may help to manage some painful conditions.

What is the Safety of Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Pain?

Although the mind and body practices studied for chronic pain have a good safety record, that does not mean that they are risk-free for everyone. Your health and special circumstances (such as pregnancy) may affect the safety of these approaches. If you are considering natural products, remember that natural does not always mean safe and that some natural products may have side effects or interact with medications you may be taking.

What Is Chronic Pain and Why Is It Important?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than several months (defined as three to six months, or as longer than “normal healing”). It is a very common problem. Results from a National Health Interview Survey showed that about 25.3 million U.S. adults (11.2 percent) had pain every day for the previous three months. In addition, nearly 40 million adults (17.6 percent) had severe pain.

Individuals with severe pain had worse health, used more health care, and had more disability than those with less severe pain.

Who Has Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain becomes more common as we age, at least in part because health problems that can cause pain, such as osteoarthritis, become more common with advancing age. Military veterans are another group at increased risk for chronic pain; U.S. national survey data show that both pain, in general, and severe pain is more common among veterans than in nonveterans.

Not all people with chronic pain have a health problem diagnosed by a health care provider, but among those who do, the most frequent conditions, by far, are low-back pain or osteoarthritis, according to a national survey.

Other common diagnoses include rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, carpal tunnel syndrome, and fibromyalgia.

The annual economic cost of chronic pain in the United States, including both treatment and lost productivity, has been estimated at up to $635 billion.

Chronic pain may result from an underlying disease or health condition, an injury, medical treatment (such as surgery), inflammation, or a problem in the nervous system, or the cause may be unknown. Pain can affect quality of life and productivity, and it may be accompanied by difficulty in moving around, disturbed sleep, anxiety, depression, and other problems.

What the Science Says About Complementary Health Approaches for Chronic Pain

The scientific evidence suggests that some complementary health approaches may help people manage chronic pain.

I will highlight the research of some approaches used for common kinds of pain.

Chronic Pain Complementary Approaches

There is evidence that acupuncture, yoga, relaxation techniques, tai chi, massage, and osteopathic or spinal manipulation may have some benefit for chronic pain.

Research also shows that hypnosis is moderately effective in managing chronic pain, when compared to usual medical care. However, the effectiveness of hypnosis can vary from one person to another. A study of mindfulness meditation for chronic pain also showed to be associated with an improvement in pain symptoms.

Also, studies on music have shown that it can reduce self-reported pain and depression symptoms in people with chronic pain.

Low-Back Pain 

Low-back pain has shown improvement with acupuncture, and a massage therapist might provide short-term relief from low-back pain. Unfortunately, massage has not been shown to have long-term benefits for low-back pain.

A research review concluded that mindfulness-based stress reduction is associated with improvements in pain intensity and physical functioning in low-back pain, compared to usual care. 

Spinal manipulation appears to be as effective as other therapies commonly used for chronic low-back pain, such as physical therapy, exercise, and chiropractic.

An evaluation of the research on yoga for low-back pain found that it improved pain and function in both the short term (1-6 months) and intermediate term (6-12 months). Yoga is an option for chronic, but not acute, low-back pain.

A study on herbal products for low-back pain found evidence that cayenne, administered topically (applied to the skin) can reduce pain. Two other herbal products used topically, comfrey and lavender essential oil, and two herbs used orally, white willow bark and devil’s claw, may also be helpful, but the evidence for these herbs is not as strong as that for cayenne.

Osteoarthritis

There is evidence that acupuncture has short-term benefits in relieving knee pain caused by osteoarthritis.

A study for osteoarthritis of the knee concluded that tai chi has short-term (up to 12 weeks) and medium-term (12-26 weeks) benefits on pain for people with knee osteoarthritis. There has not been enough research to show whether it is helpful for longer periods.

Studies of glucosamine, chondroitin, and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) for knee osteoarthritis pain may be effective for some. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), or the herb thunder god vine may help relieve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

Headaches

There is moderate evidence that acupuncture may reduce the frequency of migraines. 

Guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society classify butterbur as effective; feverfew, magnesium, and riboflavin as probably effective; and coenzyme Q10 as possibly effective for preventing migraines.

Neck Pain

Studies on acupuncture suggest that acupuncture is helpful for neck pain.

Massage therapy may provide short-term relief from neck pain, especially if massage sessions are relatively lengthy and frequent, but it does not appear to be more effective than other therapies.

Spinal manipulation also may be helpful for relief of neck pain.

Fibromyalgia

Some studies show tai chi, yoga, mindfulness, and biofeedback for fibromyalgia symptoms have had promising results.

In addition, vitamin D supplements, for those who have low vitamin D levels, may help to reduce pain in people with fibromyalgia.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Probiotics may be helpful for irritable bowel syndrome, but it is still uncertain which types of probiotics are most effective.

Some formulations of peppermint oil may be helpful for irritable bowel symptoms as well.

Other Types of Pain

Various complementary approaches have been studied for other types of chronic pain, such as nerve pain, chronic pelvic pain, and pain associated with endometriosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, pain associated with gout, and cancer. There is promising evidence that the complementary approaches talked about earlier in this article may be helpful for some of these types of pain. 

What the Science Says About Safety and Side Effects

As with any treatment, it is important to consider safety before using complementary health approaches. Safety depends on the specific approach and on the health of the person using it. If you are considering or using a complementary approach for pain, check with your health care provider to make sure it is safe for you.

Safety of Mind and Body Approaches

Mind and body practices, such as acupuncture, hypnosis, massage therapy, mindfulness/meditation, relaxation techniques, spinal manipulation, tai chi/qi gong, and yoga, are generally safe for healthy people if they are performed appropriately. People with medical conditions and pregnant women may need to modify or avoid some mind and body practices.

Like other forms of exercise, mind and body practices that involve movement, such as tai chi and yoga, can cause sore muscles and may involve some risk of injury.

Safety of Natural Products

Remember “natural” does not always mean “safe.” Some natural products may have side effects and may interact with medications.

Millions of people in the United States are living with some form of chronic pain daily. Chronic pain can seriously interfere with your daily activities, work, studies, family life, social life, and emotional well-being.

If you are struggling with health issues, call the Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center at 240-651-1650 for a free consultation. Dr. Lo uses Nutritional Response Testing® to analyze the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health. The office is located at 7310 Grove Road #107 in Frederick. Check out the website at www.doctorlo.com.

Ask Dr. Lo Thirty-five Years of Practice

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This Is My Story

by Dr. Thomas K. Lo, Advanced Chiropractic

This year marked my 35th anniversary practicing chiropractic and 13 years using Nutritional Response Testing NRT® in Maryland.

After graduating from National University of Health Science, I started my private practice in Crofton, Maryland, in 1984. I continued my postgraduate training and was awarded as a Fellow of the International Academy Clinical Acupuncture, a Fellow of the American Association of Integrative Medicine, and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management. I served on the medical team for the 1996 Track and Field Olympic Team and as a treating doctor on the U.S Greatest Athlete Decathlon Club in the 2004 Olympic trial. I have also served as the treating chiropractor for the Ballet Theater of Maryland, the only professional Ballet Company in the State. Along the way, I have taken care of many professional athletes, celebrities, and politicians. I was at the height of my career until misfortune struck and resulted in the very reason I got into NRT®

It all began on December 16, 2006. It was the holiday season and our office was very hectic. I was busy treating patients, trying to close the books for the year-end taxes and getting ready for two big Christmas parties at my house, with 50-70 guests. I had no time for lunch and just grabbed a bite to eat from whatever patients brought in—mainly cookies and chocolates.

On that Tuesday afternoon around 4:00 p.m., I broke out in a cold sweat, felt shaky, and experienced vertigo right in the middle of treating a patient. I ran to the bathroom, throwing up, and returned to finish treating the patient. This went on for about an hour, and I finally could not do that anymore. We had to cancel all the patients in the next two hours, and I asked my chiropractic assistant, Tony, to take my blood pressure. It was 190/165, my pulse was 90, and my temperature was normal.

He drove me to my family doctor who tried to stop my vertigo and vomiting with pills and shots, but had no success. The doctor finally gave me a shot to knock me out, and he asked Tony to drive me home. My doctor tried very hard to help me out and had spent over an hour past their closing time. I was thankful and appreciated that very much. They had been our family physicians since 1984, and we were lucky to have them; they are friendly and open-minded.

Just about a week before this, I had bragged about never missing a day of work because of illness or injuries. Now I had to miss two days in a row. For the next two months, I went through a healing journey, with which some of you can identify. First, I saw a neurologist who could not find anything wrong with me. My blood pressure was back to normal, with no medication. I had an MRI to rule out cancer or a stroke, which came back normal.

Next, I visited an ENT specialist who found I had slight hearing loss in my left ear. All the bloodwork came back normal, and he did not know what caused the vertigo. The next stop was the urologist. The PSA was slightly high, but the digital exam and biopsy was normal. A scheduled visit to the GI doctor and a colonoscopy revealed twelve polyps, but none of them were cancerous.

In the meantime, between medical doctor visits, I was seeing three different chiropractic colleagues. They gave me a variety of treatments, including activator adjustment, manual manipulation, cold laser, and nutrition and diet modification. After all the medical testing, the doctors could still not find the cause of my vertigo. Interestingly, a chiropractic evaluation revealed I had a virus in left ear, malfunctioning kidneys, parasites, adrenal fatigue, and multiple food allergies. All of these came from eating too much sugar and my stressed out body just could not handle it, resulting in an immune system breakdown. I did try acupuncture and some herbal remedies, which did not help at all. While the cold laser helped to eliminate the symptom of vertigo, diet change and nutrition support were the proper treatment for me and got to the root of the problem.

After two months of medical testing and alternative care, I lost ten pounds and felt about 80-90 percent better. I started playing tennis again, but had lost the stamina, quickness, and finesse. Therefore, I continued searching for a better answer and went through many seminars. Finally, I attended Dr. Ulan’s Nutrition Response Testing Seminar and found it to be what I needed. The program is simple, easy to follow, thorough, and relatively inexpensive.

Nutritional Response Testing allows me to pinpoint the cause of your problem with laser sharp accuracy and provide you with your personalized, specific nutrition evaluation. If five patients come in with symptoms and diagnosis of hypothyroidism, each one of them may have a different treatment program; it depends on the cause.

Since I have been on the NRT® Program, I regained my quickness and stamina on the tennis court. I started to win games and matches again. As my opponents have said, “He is back!” Since being in Frederick, I have become quite an opponent on the pickleball court as well!

I sold the practice in Crofton last December to concentrate on my practice in Frederick, which I started in March 2017, as I semi-retired with my wife to Thurmont. We enjoy the slower pace of life in this area, In my spare time, I discovered pickleball and play up to six or seven times a week. When not playing pickleball, I enjoy working out and swimming at the YMCA in downtown Frederick. On the weekends, my wife and I enjoy eating out at local restaurants and hiking a couple of miles in the mountains near our home with our dog.

Life is good, but nothing gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than seeing my patients and helping them achieve their optimal health, especially with the conditions their own doctors could not help them with or diagnose. When I figure out the cause of my patients’ ill health and find out what nutritional supplements and diet changes can help them, their body begins healing itself and they begin the journey to regaining their health and feeling better.

If you are struggling with health issues, call the Advanced Chiropractic & Nutritional Healing Center at 240-651-1650 for a free consultation.  Dr. Lo uses Nutritional Response Testing ® to analyze the body to determine the underlying causes of ill or non-optimum health.

The office is located at 7310 Grove Road #107, Frederick, MD. Check out the website at www.doctorlo.com.