Complementary and Alternative Pain Therapy Can Reduce Pain, Reduce Drug Ussage,...

This page will discuss complementary and alternative pain therapy for colon cancer patients.

Many studies and personal testimonials show that alternative pain therapy can:

• Reduce pain,
• Reduce drug usage,
• Help improve quality of life.

Alternative pain therapy is often included in a long-term approach to healing. Sometimes combined with modern medicine, these methods are increasingly recognized to work well for many patients. You can administer some methods yourself. Others require trained professionals.

Professional alternative pain treatment can be expensive; costs can run into the hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Some insurance policies cover part of the more well-known treatments such as acupuncture or massage. But in most cases, you will need to pay out-of-pocket.

Some methods of alternative pain therapy are passive. This means the practitioner such as a massage therapist works on you. Most colon cancer patients can take part in these. Other methods such as physical exercises are not suitable for people who are laid up.

What is CAM?

Complementary and alternative medicine and therapies are discussed in the National Institute of Medicine website (nccam.nih.gov).

That website explains:

• CAM [Complementary and Alternative Medicine] is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices and products, not generally considered part of conventional medicine
• Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine
• Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine

Massage

Massage is a popular type of alternative pain therapy. It relieves pain and stiffness by easing muscle pain and spasms. It also increases the body's production of pain-killing endorphins and improves sleep.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture uses needles or controlled low level electrical impulses to stimulate specific points throughout the body. The benefits of this therapy include:

• pain reduction
• nausea reduction
• increased energy

This is accomplished through the harmonious balance of complementary extremes of yin and yang. Some people believe that the needles or electricity inserted into various points of the body help balance your energy flow.

A more scientific explanation is that certain nerves, muscles and connective tissue are stimulated. This stimulation appears to boost activity of natural painkillers and increase blood flow. Acupuncture is also used for cancer patients to control nausea and vomiting. To read more about cancer and acupuncture go to this page on www.cancer.gov.

Thermotherapy

Thermotherapy refers to heating your body in different ways. These include:

• heating pads
• hot water bottles
• paraffin wax baths
• therapeutic heat wraps

Heat can reduce pain by increasing blood flow and increase your tolerance for pain. Heat application does not require a professional physical therapist and may be safely applied at home. A therapeutic heat wrap may be used while sleeping, since it produces safe, low-level heat therapy.

TENS Units

A TENS unit sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body to block pain signals. The electrical currents can prevent pain messages from being transmitted to the brain and may raise your endorphin levels. Electrodes are attached to the surface of the skin over or near the area where you experience pain.

A TENS unit provides pain relief for several hours. Some patients hook the unit onto a belt turning it on and off as needed. TENS units should not be used near a tumor and should always be used under the direction of a doctor or physical therapist. These medical devices can plug into a wall socket or be portable and battery operated.

Other Methods

There are many other methods that claim to reduce pain, enhance energy and restore health. Methods such as Chi-Lel and Qigong may help the cancer patient re-establish peace-of-mind. But there are no reliable claims that these or the following reduce colon cancer pain:

• visualization
• meditation
• Reiki healing
• biofeedback
• applied kinesiology

Chi-lel is a system of visualizations with gentle exercises that are easy to learn. Chi-Lel, developed by Dr. Pang Ming, is "an exercise or challenge that requires study or daily effort." Its philosophy states that vital life energy is conveyed to every cell, muscle, organ and bodily system via meridians. Health is said to be restored when this disruption of energy or chi is rebalanced. See www.chilel.com for more information.

Written by Steve Goldner - 4/30/09

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