by Janis M. Betz, RN, BSN
The Mosby’s Medical Dictionary (6th ed) defines PAIN as “an unpleasant sensation caused by a harmful stimulation of the sensory nerve endings. It is a subjective feeling and an individual response to the cause. Pain is a classic symptom of inflammation and is valuable in diagnosing many disorders and conditions. It may be mild or severe, chronic, acute, intermittent, burning, dull or sharp, precisely or poorly localized, or referred. Experiencing pain is influenced by physical, mental, biochemical, psychological, physiological, social, cultural, and emotional factors” (2002).
No matter what type of pain you are experiencing, it is not pleasant. Pain can be good when it warns you of a problem in your body, such as abdominal pain with appendicitis. Pain is also an excellent deterrent to help prevent repeated injuries. On the other hand, pain may cause stress, weakening your immune system and leading to illness.
Let me examine the pain resulting from hitting your thumb with a hammer. This type of pain is described as acute, simply meaning – immediate. In other words, the pain did not exist before hitting your thumb with a hammer. This pain has an anticipated or predictable end.
Acute pain happens when the impact of the hammer striking the thumb damages the soft tissue in your thumb. This sends an immediate pain signal through the sensory nerves to your brain and then back down the motor nerves, which causes you to pull the thumb away from danger. Continued pain in the thumb is caused by inflammation or swelling around the damaged soft tissue. This is the body’s response to clean up damaged cells. The swelling puts pressure on the sensory nerves, signaling to the brain that there is still a problem. Then, the brain sends a signal back down the motor nerve to cause you to guard the thumb from further damage until the thumb’s soft tissue is repaired. What an incredible design. (Information from any Anatomy and Physiology textbook)
To resolve acute pain, the book The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide (3rd ed) recommends the RICE routine for first aid. “RICE, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation, is usually the best way to treat minor soft-tissue injuries such as bruises, strains, sprains, and bursitis. Rest the injured part of your body to reduce further bleeding and swelling. After 24 hours, movement is encouraged, if tolerated, to stimulate lymphatic fluid flow, which helps decrease swelling and prevent stiffness. Apply an ice pack (over a cloth barrier) to the injured area for 20-30 minutes every 2-3 hours for the first 48 hours after an injury. After 48 hours, do a warm Epsom salt soak for 30-40 minutes, 2-3 times a day, to help with healing. Alternatively, put the injured area in hot water for 3 minutes, then ice cold water for 1 minute. Repeat three times. Wear a compression bandage (ace wrap) for at least two days to help reduce bleeding and swelling. Elevate or raise the injured part of your body to help drain fluid and reduce swelling” (1994). Lightly brush your skin with your fingertips or a natural bristle brush from the point of injury up to your clavicle (collar bone) in one long stroke. This will help lymphatic fluid flow to decrease swelling and pain.
You can have a referred pain. This means that the cause of your pain is located in a different part of your body. For example, gallbladder pain often shows up as pain between the shoulder blades at the center of your back. You may think you are having back pain, but it may be gallbladder pain. Your gallbladder is located on your right front side. Sometimes you may have a bowel problem that may stimulate pain in your back or elsewhere in your body. This is because you have reflexes in your bowel to all areas of your body. When these reflexes are irritated, you may have pain in that part of your body.
Pain associated with arthritis is described as chronic, meaning long-term duration lasting six months or longer. This pain has no anticipated or predictable end.
Chronic pain happens when there is a constant and persistent source of irritation or inflammation. A lot of arthritic conditions have a strong genetic tie. Some arthritic conditions come from wear and tear from hard work and/or obesity. Other reasons are chronic dehydration, chronic misalignment (out of joint), an old injury that did not heal correctly, repeated injury, immune system attack (auto-immune), or a toxic/acid accumulation in the joint area. For example, Gout is an arthritic condition of the toe or finger joints directly related to uric acid crystal accumulation from overeating protein or having poorly metabolized protein.
Autoimmune disorders causing chronic pain, such as rheumatoid, inflammatory, reactive arthritis, and lupus, is caused by an immune system attack on your connective tissues, joints, and spine. This attack is related to an autoimmune disorder caused by malfunctioning blood-type cells. Your blood type cells are supposed to secrete an antigen (specialized protein) into your tissues and fluids, which causes your immune system to recognize normal tissue as friendly; therefore, it will not attack healthy tissue. However, some people’s blood type cells do not secrete this specialized protein, and their immune systems attack healthy tissue. This phenomenon causes all autoimmune disorders. The problem lies in your bone marrow. The blood type cells come from your bone marrow. Problems with the blood type cells occur because there is a disturbance(s) in your bone marrow that you have inherited, such as emotional disturbances, genetic disturbances, toxin disturbances, etc. I have been able to remove these disturbances using prayer from a Christian perspective, using detoxification supplements, and modalities to correct poor stem cell production using metabolic/proteolytic enzymes, such as Pro Enzyme by Richard’s Nutrition Center, Fibrenza by HCP Formulas, and Intenzyme Forte by Biotics. The essential branch chain amino acids help make a good adult stem cell and create a healthy tissue cell. I use the Supreme Fulvic and Humic Complex by Supreme Fulvic, LLC to supply the adult stem cell with the trace nutrients it needs to make an adult stem cell. The Shungite water made from the Shungite stones puts a right spin on your cells to aid in the proper function of your cells. I have been successful in reversing autoimmune disorders and chronic pain.
If you have an autoimmune disorder, consuming sugar will stimulate an immune system attack and an inflammatory response, causing pain. Other foods that may stimulate an attack and cause inflammation are dairy, wheat, soy, and corn. Combining 1/2 N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) and 1 Intenzyme Forte split will help block the harmful effects of eating sugar and foods outside your blood type diet. Also, the supplement “Moducare” is excellent for helping regulate the immune system balance and decreasing inflammation. The Blood Type Diet works! Many chronic pain and autoimmune issues/problems are resolved by avoiding foods that react with your blood type cells. The book Live Right for Your Blood Type by Peter D’Adamo will give you more information about the secretor status of your blood type. It will also inform you about the foods to eat and avoid.
Dehydration can also cause chronic pain and chronic constipation. Let me explain. The disks in your spine are filled with a jelly-like fluid, and your joints glide over a fluid layer. When you do not drink enough water, your body robs your joints, disks, and bowels of fluid. As a result, your joints, disks, and stool matter start to dry up, which stimulates irritation and then inflammation, leading to pain. When your bowels are not emptying reasonable amounts, 2-3 times a day, you are accumulating fecal matter, which will put pressure on your nerves coming out of your spine. This may cause chronic low back pain. Dehydration also leads to a toxic and acid build-up in the tissues, creating inflammation and pain.
Solving chronic pain may include many recommendations for relieving acute pain. The better solution is to 1) drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water daily (136 lb = 68 oz. or 8½ c./day). Minimum of 2 quarts/day; 2) clean out your bowels by taking extra fiber and taking probiotics; 3) eat a lot of raw vegetation from your blood type diet; 4) limit protein intake; 5) take an essential fatty acid, such as Chia seed oil or Flax seed oil; 6) drink freshly extracted vegetable juice; and 7) take a green barley grass juice supplement.
If you need to take a drug remedy to help with pain and inflammation, then ibuprofen is a choice, but it comes with side effects with long-term use, such as kidney issues, bleeding, multiple blood disorders, and many more side effects. Take the time to go to the library or bookstore and look up what your drugs do for you and their side effects. Tylenol just helps with pain and comes with side effects, like all drugs. I have found personally that the combination of Tylenol and Fibrenza together is the best pain remedy for me.
In most cases, the key to pain relief is removing inflammation. There are a lot of natural remedies, such as White Willow bark (aspirin comes from this bark, but the bark does not have all the side effects of aspirin), DL-Phenylalanine, Devil’s Claw, MSM, Valerian, Inositol, Feverfew, Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex, Barley grass juices/tablets, Turmeric, Boswellia, Cat’s claw, Garlic, Essential fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, and metabolic enzymes, such as Bromelain. I have tried Cannabis and Hemp oils, which have some pain-relieving effects. Therapeutic north-side magnetic therapy and castor oil packs may also be very beneficial. Natural pain-relieving rubs include arnica, menthol, birch, or wintergreen. Natural remedies may also have some side effects, so research your herbs.
Mosby’s Medical Dictionary 6th ed., (2002)
