Alternative Therapies Provide Chronic Pain Relief Without Pain Medications
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anonymous Asks ...
Does acupressure work as well as acupuncture to help people who are suffering while trying to taper off opiate pain drugs? I prefer no needles and there is a local acupressure therapist but I am in so much discomfort trying to reduce my daily dosage of Lortabs that I am willing to go the needles route if it is necessary.
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Delisted Expert Says ...
From your question, I assume that you are suffering from chronic pain. Although I do not know what kind of pain you are in, I will do my best to answer your question. I have worked with chronic pain patients for years and saw many of them become addicted to prescription pain medications; such as Lortab. Lortab is a combination of Hydrocodone and acetaminophen and belongs to a group of opiate pain medications. I see that your interest in acupressure and acupuncture is in their potential use to help people “taper off” of opiate pain drugs, like Lortab. Although you do not indicate if you have become dependent on Lortab, it does appear that you do have a medical reason for tapering off of your pain medication.
I applaud you for considering alternative forms of treatments for pain control. Recent research has shown that acupuncture and acupressure, both, have been effective interventions for pain control or relief. For more information about this, go to these websites:
- www.empowereddoctor.com/acupuncture-and-acupressure-are-efficient-in-delivering-pain-relief
- www.livestrong.com/article/174591-acupressure-vs-acupuncture-in-pain/
- www.webmd.com/pain-management/ss/slideshow-acupuncture-overview
At the recent EFIC Congress “Pain in Europe VII”, it was reported that three alternative therapies can be efficient in reducing pain. These alternative therapies are called the three “A’s”, i.e. acupressure, acupuncture, and aromatherapy. For more information about this, go to this website.
For pain relief without needles, pressure, or touch, you may want to investigate an alternative healing method called pranic healing. Many people have been helped or healed of chronic pain by working with a pranic healer. For more information, go to this site.
There are numerous other alternative practices which can help with pain relief, such as Reiki, Qigong and others. I would recommend you look at the ones already mentioned as well as ones not discussed in this response.
The bottom line is that you have many alternative pain relief/control modalities to choose from. I wish you much success in your venture in self healing and recovery. If you need anything else from me, please contact me as soon as you are able.
Respectfully,
John W. O’Neal, Ed.S, MSW, MA, LPC, NCC
