Teamwork: A Great Way to Manage Stubborn Pain

“I’ve tried everything!”

This is a statement I’ve heard many times from my patients suffering with chronic pain. If you have stubborn pain from conditions like arthritis, migraines or sciatica you’ve likely tried a lot to relieve it. Persistent pain can be frustrating.

Many who suffer from chronic pain try one type of treatment at a time to tackle the pain. You may start with weeks of acupuncture. After that you move on to one supplement, then you move on to another, then another. Then you try one type of physical therapy after another. One the one hand, trying one thing at a time makes sense. If you try everything at once how will you know what’s working? On the other hand, if your pain is not getting better this way it may be worth trying a different method.

I really like the concept of synergy. In health care, synergy can mean combining different treatments together at the same time to get better results. Sometimes you can get results that are bigger and better than trying those same treatments one at a time. The treatments work together on the same goal in different ways.

My patients who have a good team of different health care providers working together to reduce their pain often get positive results. Chiropractors, physiotherapists and massage therapists can all work together to tackle your pain from a different angle. Each one can use different strategies to treat the causes of your pain. Adding a naturopathic doctor to your team can target yet another angle. Naturopaths can treat your pain from the inside. We look at ways to reduce inflammation and muscle tension and improve nerve health using diet, herbs and nutrients. Each practitioner can even use acupuncture in different ways to reduce pain.

If you have your family doctor or specialists working on your case as well, the rest of your health care team will make sure there are no interactions between anything you’re doing.

So do you feel like you’ve tried everything? I strongly suggest that you try building a well-rounded health care team. A team effort is a great way to manage stubborn pain.

Need to add a naturopathic doctor to your health care team? Book an appointment or free 15-minute consult at HLHC today!

If you are interested in naturopathic services please contact Holland Landing Health Centre at 905-853-7900 or via e-mail at info@HLHC.ca.