Managing Pain without Narcotics

Pain is not a disease. It is a sensation, and as such, it is a part of everyone's life. Like other sensations, such as the color green or the taste of sweetness, it is something most of us encounter in one form or another, every day of our lives. It is how the body lets us know that something is damaging or overstimulating, and as such it plays an important role in protecting the body.

Pain can become problematic when it is resulting from damage that cannot be readily repaired, such as a major or degenerative injury, AND the level of pain is enough that it interferes with the quality of life. In such cases, it is appropriate to take steps to manage the pain. In our culture, this often means the use of narcotics. There are many many different narcotic prescription pain medicines out there, and many narcotic herbs as well (such as opium resin and coca leaf). But there are well-known problems associated with this class of substances.

For a great many people, it is possible to manage pain effectively without the use of narcotics. Ideally, this can be accomplished through treating whatever is causing the pain. When that is not possible (or while that is going on) it is good to ease the pain. Moxabustion, Cupping and Gua Sha (which have their own entries on this blog) are some of the methods that I use for managing pain in a clinical setting.

Another very interesting and very safe herb for pain is Cayenne (Capsicum annuum). It works by using up or depleting the neurotransmitter (called substance P) that the body uses to relay the pain message through the nervous system. The result is an increased threshold of pain-- meaning that it takes more to make you hurt-- without any sedation. Cayenne is usually very well-tolerated (even more so by people who are used to pain), its one drawback being that, spicy as it is, it can irritate the parts of the body that it comes into contact with.

Ginger is another herb that works well for certain types of pain. it is especially good for what is sometimes described as "cold" pain: pain that is an aching rather than a burning sensation, and which is generally made worse by cold weather. This includes most joint pain. Ginger is antiinflammatory, and increases the circulation.

White willow bark, wintergreen leaves, birch bark, violets, and meadowsweet are all herbs that contain salicylates. These are chemicals that are structurally similar to aspirin (but with fewer side effects, in most cases), and which can be helpful for a variety of types and degrees of pain in the body. They are not quite as safe as ginger and cayenne (which are almost impossible to do any serious harm with) but they are, statistically, much safer than over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen.

Another herb which I find to be very helpful in my practice is Usnea oil extract. Usnea is a lichen, a mossy looking thing that grows on and hangs from the bark and branches of trees. I learned about this traditional medicine while traveling in the Arctic many years ago; since that time it has been studied in a laboratory setting in Iceland. As a pain reliever, it is often amazingly effective, working for tooth pain and other deep-tissue pain in a very quick and surprisingly uncomlicated manner. It doesn't cause and drowsiness or altered state of consciousness. It appears to be completely non-addictive. It just makes pain stop. Although it doesn't always work (what does?), it tends to work very quickly. For oral pain its effect is almost instant, and for pain elsewehere in the body it is as fast-acting as anything that needs to get digested first.

These are just a few of the herbs and techniques that I find useful in my practice for managing pain. All in all, there are scores of different things that can be done to manage pain without the use of narcotics, and anyone interested in pursuing such a course of action is encouraged to contact me.