The Real Solutions To Your Pain And Health Problems

The other night, a close friend of mine had “the worst headache in his life.” When he told me about it a week later, he said the headache awakened him at 2 a.m. and left him up all night in pain, scraping his head against the carpet to find relief. Eventually, he vomited.

He told me the headache lasted three days and he ended up experiencing severe stomach pain, acid reflux, burning in his intestines and diarrhea from the amount of medicine he took to relieve the pain. The pain meds did not work, but he kept trying and eventually took too many, leading to a new and different collateral issue. He called me to ask why the medications had not worked and how such a headache can last for so long. My answer was simple, and it offered him a method to discover the root cause of his pain.

Symptom Masking Is Not Problem Solving

While the Western scientific method views pain, illness and disease very specifically, Eastern systems do not. Western bio-science is based on a reductionist view of the body, finding the smallest thing responsible for a change and trying to adjust, fix or block it. In other words, if one is experiencing pain, this philosophy advocates taking a medication to block the pain receptors; problem solved. If you can’t sleep, you’re supposed to take a tablet to induce sleep. Again, problem solved. If you have diarrhea, drink or take something to halt the flow and that solves the problem.

Yet health problems have never been solved using such methods.

When the body is off-kilter (not working at homeostasis), there is potential for a downward turn in health, reduced feeling of vitality and an increase in pain or other symptoms. Symptomatic treatment may, in fact, provide some temporary relief from a health issue, which may be much needed in the moment. However, many people tend to experience the same adverse health conditions again and again, at intervals or continuously throughout their lives. And it is not healthy or kind to the body to keep swallowing chemical pills and liquids for prolonged periods. In the short run, these solutions are powerful at getting over the hump, so to speak. But in the long run (and sometimes in the short run), they lead to a host of health problems like liver damage, heart disease, GERD, IBS, kidney dysfunction, chronic inflammation and rebound pain.

Masking the symptoms of pain, for example, will never prevent the pain from returning. Nor will it necessarily address the pain you may be experiencing. The example offered in my introduction shows that despite taking more painkillers than necessary, my friend suffered his headache in full force for several days. What’s more, the overuse of pain meds led to a new rebound health issue within the digestive tract.

Why Things Work And Why They Don’t

So the big question that puzzled my friend was: Why didn’t the headache tablets take away his headache or reduce its pain? The answer is: because they were not the right solution to the problem. While it may sound counterintuitive, just because a product or therapy is marketed to help relieve the symptoms of a headache, for example, does not mean it can actually do this all of the time. Why not? Because not every symptom (in this case a headache) is caused by the same thing every time it occurs.

Not all pain is the same. And not every product works for every type of pain. While ibuprofen is often successful in reducing inflammation, it does not help much when muscle spasm is an issue. Sometimes, pain is caused by inflammation; other times, it is triggered by muscle contraction.

In the case of contractions (tightness, trigger points), muscle relaxation is needed. This can be accomplished as a result of medication, but just as easily (and with less harm to the body) from massage, stretching and meditation.

One Problem, Many Causes

One of the tenets of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is that there are many causes of the same problem and that one cause can manifest in many ways. In other words, if 10 people suffer from migraine headaches and see a Western-trained healthcare provider, they may all receive the same prescription medication. After all, in the Western medical philosophy, symptoms of pain and poor health are labeled and the label (not the person) is treated. The label “migraine” is treated with certain drugs regardless of anything else going on in a person’s body or life.

In TCM, if 10 people present with migraine headache, the practitioner will assess their overall health and mental state while taking into consideration lifestyle, diet, stress and sleep issues, to name a few. From this larger comprehensive and more holistic assessment, the TCM practitioner may find that while each of the 10 patients is experiencing what is labeled a “migraine,” they all have different reasons. Therefore, their treatment will be different. Some will receive herbal therapy, others acupuncture, dietary therapy, massage or energy therapy. In other words, while each person is manifesting a headache, the cause of why or how the blood vessels changed is different and so then is the solution for each person.

Understand Your Problem To Help Uncover The Root

So how can you uncover the root cause of your health issues to make better relief or therapeutic choices? The first thing is to discuss the potential causes of your issue with your primary healthcare provider. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to taking control of your own health and wellness. Second, if you are a chronic headache sufferer, for example, then you can do some research online and easily find the common triggers for headaches.

You will find that headaches are commonly caused by exposure to chemical toxins in cleaning supplies, detergents and nitrates, as well as food preservatives, sugar, caffeine, fats, dairy products, red wine, citrus fruits and nightshade vegetables. It can also be linked to dehydration, lack of consistent sound sleep, lack of physical activity, muscle tension and stress. That’s quite a list, and it is only a partial one.

Make a comprehensive list of what causes headaches and keep it handy. Every time you feel a headache, keep a journal of what you did, what you ate, your stress levels, your sleep time, the weather and so on. When you begin to reconcile the two lists, you will find the likely headache trigger or triggers appearing again and again. This is a pattern you can recognize. Your pattern causes your own bodily imbalance which in turn causes your symptom, which may be headaches. Like my friend, if you experience a prolonged headache and the solution you reach for does not work within a reasonable time, you must seek another solution. If the headache is caused by lack of sleep (which is quite common), then no amount of Advil or Excedrin will alleviate it. Only getting ample sleep over a few days will.

Own Your Health

Your quality of life and state of health is personal and individual, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach that has proven effective or safe. Taking the wrong medication or seeing the wrong health practitioner for your health concerns will never help you. When you find something is not working, you must look for other solutions. And this process starts with a discussion with your healthcare provider and also with some personal research into your chronic conditions. If you can become familiar with the potential causes (triggers) of the health issues you experience and you can keep track of the ones presenting in your daily life, then you can be better equipped to find the correct and correlated solution.

If you have “the worst headache ever” and double doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not working, don’t take more and expect relief. This only causes further health issues. Instead, try to uncover the root cause of your pain and then look for solutions that can safely and effectively address it.