Pain: From 5 Different Sources
Agonising physical distress caused by sensory nerve irritation. Nature’s warning that something is wrong. Where persistent, investigation by a qualified person is essential. For mild pain natural non- suppressive herbs are available. The following are helpful until the doctor comes.
In the chest. When in the gullet it can closely resemble pain in the heart and can be mistaken for angina. Gullet pain, worse by acid and hot drinks, is always a background pain and fails to resolve after exercise. See: OESOPHAGEAL SPASM.
Aching muscles. Bio-strath Willow Formula.
In the hips. Ligvites. (Gerard House)
Ovarian. See: OVARIES.
Fibrositis, polymyalgia. Low degree pain in muscles. Any one:– Black Cohosh, Devil’s Claw, Wild Lettuce, Wild Yam, Wintergreen, Lavender, Parsley, Fenugreek seeds, Meadowsweet, German Chamomile.
In the chest. (Lungs) Balm of Gilead. (Heart) Motherwort. Breast. Evening Primrose oil.
Spine. St John’s Wort.
Aching teeth. Oil of Cloves.
Lumbago, sciatica, backache. Bio-Strath Willow formula.
Gout, rheumatism, osteo-arthritis. Poultice or compress – Comfrey, Plantain leaves, Olbas oil, Weleda Massage oil.
The acute abdomen. Carminative herbs for flatulent colic.
Pain in bowels. (Internal) Wild Yam, Cinnamon, Ginger, Caraway. (External) Cold-pack with Castor oil, Chamomile poultice.
Sprains, bruises. 5 drops Oil of Camphor to egg-cup Olive oil, rub-in relief.
Facial stabbing pains. Plantain, Chamomile, Rosemary, or Wintergreen (external) compress, lotion, tincture.
Womb. Raspberry leaf/Motherwort tea (equal parts), internal.
Head. Feverfew, Skullcap, Passion flower.
Nerve pains. Valerian. Jamaica Dogwood.
See: ANALGESICS, ANTISPASMODICS, NEURALGIA, PLEURODYNIA, etc.
Aromatherapy. Combine, equal parts Oils of Clove, Sassafras and Camphor. Add 10 drops to egg-cup Olive oil: use as a rub for aching muscles and stiff joints.
Drugs suppress pain without necessarily removing the underlying cause. The natural response to pain is to tighten, but if the patient lets go and relaxes into it, then he finds he can better control it.
A localized sensation that can range from mild discomfort to an excruciating experience. Stimulation of sensory nerve endings called nociceptors in the skin leads to pain messages being sent to the brain. Some nociceptors respond only to severe stimulation, others to warning stimuli. Pain receptors are present in other structures, such as blood vessels and tendons. Pain that may be felt at a point some distance from the cause is known as referred pain.
Treatment for pain may include drugs, electrical stimulation (TENS), surgery, or therapies such as acupuncture. (See also pain relief, endorphins.)
An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience that is derived from sensory stimuli and modified by individual memory, expectations and emotions.
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage (International Association for the Study of Pain, 1979). Pain is perceived in the cerebral cortex (see BRAIN) and is always subjective. Sometimes sensations that would usually be benign can be perceived as painful – for example, allodynia (extreme tenderness of the skin) or dysaesthesia (unpleasant skin sensations resulting from partial damage to sensory nerve ?bres, as in herpes zoster, or shingles).
Acute pain is caused by internal or external injury or disease. It warns the individual that harm or damage is occurring and stimulates them to take avoiding or protective action. With e?ective treatment of disease or injury and/or the natural healing process, the pain resolves – although some acute pain syndromes may develop into chronic pain (see below). Stimuli which are su?ciently intense potentially to damage tissue will cause the stimulation of speci?c receptors known as NOCICEPTORS. Damage to tissues releases substances which stimulate the nociceptors. On the surface of the body there is a high density of nociceptors, and each area of the body is supplied by nerves from a particular spinal segment or level: this allows the brain to localise the source of the pain accurately. Pain from internal structures and organs is more di?cult to localise and is often felt in some more super?cial structure. For example, irritation of the DIAPHRAGM is often felt as pain in the shoulder, as the nerves from both structures enter the SPINAL CORD at the same level (often the structures have developed from the same parts of the embryo). This is known as referred pain.
The impulses from nociceptors travel along nerves to the spinal cord. Within this there is modulation of the pain ‘messages’ by other incoming sensory modalities, as well as descending input from the brain (Melzack and Walls’ gate-control theory). This involves morphine-like molecules (the ENDORPHINS and ENKEPHALINS) amongst many other pain-transmitting and pain-modulating substances. The modi?ed input then passes up the spinal cord through the thalamus to the cerebral cortex. Thus the amount of pain ‘felt’ may be altered by the emotional state of the individual and by other incoming sensations. Once pain is perceived, then ‘action’ is taken; this involves withdrawal of the area being damaged, vocalisation, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM response and examination of the painful area. Analysis of the event using memory will occur and appropriate action be taken to reduce pain and treat the damage.
Chronic pain may be de?ned in several ways: for example, pain resistant to one month’s treatment, or pain persisting one month beyond the usual course of an acute illness or injury. Some doctors may also arbitrarily choose the ?gure of six months. Chronic pain di?ers from acute pain: the physiological response is di?erent and pain may either be caused by stimuli which do not usually cause the perception of pain, or may arise within nerves or the central nervous system with no apparent external stimulation. It seldom has a physiological protective function in the way acute pain has. Also, chronic pain may be self-perpetuating: if individuals gain a psychological advantage from having pain, they may continue to do so (e.g. gaining attention from family or health professionals, etc.). The nervous system itself alters when pain is long-standing in such a way that it becomes more sensitive to painful inputs and tends to perpetuate the pain.
Treatment The treatment of pain depends upon its nature and cause. Acute pain is generally treated by curing the underlying complaint and prescribing ANALGESICS or using local anaesthetic techniques (see ANAESTHESIA – Local anaesthetics). Many hospitals now have acute pain teams for the management of postoperative and other types of acute pain; chronic pain is often treated in pain clinics. Those involved may include doctors (in Britain, usually anaesthetists), nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists, physiotherapists and complementary therapists. Patients are usually referred from other hospital specialists (although some may be referred by GPs). They will usually have been given a diagnosis and exhausted the medical and surgical treatment of their underlying condition.
All the usual analgesics may be employed, and opioids are often used in the terminal treatment of cancer pain.
ANTICONVULSANTS and ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS are also used because they alter the transmission of pain within the central nervous system and may actually treat the chronic pain syndrome.
Many local anaesthetic techniques are used. Myofascial pain – pain affecting muscles and connective tissues – is treated by the injection of local anaesthetic into tender spots, and nerves may be blocked either as a diagnostic procedure or by way of treatment. Epidural anaesthetic injections are also used in the same way, and all these treatments may be repeated at intervals over many months in an attempt to cure or at least reduce the pain. For intractable pain, nerves are sometimes destroyed using injections of alcohol or PHENOL or by applying CRYOTHERAPY or radiofrequency waves. Intractable or terminal pain may be treated by destroying nerves surgically, and, rarely, the pain pathways within the spinal cord are severed by cordotomy (though this is generally only used in terminal care).
ACUPUNCTURE and TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION (TENS) are used for a variety of pain syndromes, particularly myofascial or musculoskeletal pain. It is thought that they work by increasing the release of endorphins and enkephalins (see above). It is possible to implant electrodes within the epidural space to stimulate directly the nerves as they traverse this space before passing into the spinal cord.
Physiotherapy is often used, particularly in the treatment of chronic backache, where pain may be reduced by improving posture and strengthening muscles with careful exercises. Relaxation techniques and psychotherapy are also used both to treat chronic pain and to help patients cope better with their disability.
Some types of chronic pain are caused by injury to sympathetic nerves or may be relieved by interrupting conduction in sympathetic nerves. This may be done in several ways. The nerves may be blocked using local anaesthetic or permanently destroyed using alcohol, phenol or by surgery.
Many of these techniques may be used in the management of cancer pain. Opioid drugs are often used by a variety of routes and methods, and management of these patients concentrates on the control of symptoms and on providing a good quality of life.
n. an unpleasant sensation ranging from mild discomfort to agonized distress, associated with real or potential tissue damage. Pain is a response to impulses from the peripheral nerves in damaged tissue, which pass to nerves in the spinal cord, where they are subjected to a gate control. This gate modifies the subsequent passage of the impulses in accordance with descending controls from the brain. Because attention is a crucial component of pain, distraction can act as a basis for pain therapy. On the other hand, anxiety and depression focus the attention and exaggerate the pain. If the nerve pathways are damaged, the brain can increase the amplification in the pathway, maintaining the sensation as a protective mechanism.
Ill-de?ned discomfort and pains that occur in the limbs of some children. They occur mainly at night between the ages of 6–12 years. The cause is unknown, but the condition is not signi?cant and does not require treatment once other more important conditions have been ruled out.... growing pains
Love... indian paint brush
A set of strategies to address an individual’s pain management requirements and supportive of the individual’s pain control.... pain management programme
Spiritual pain is what may be felt when one of a person’s four key spiritual relationships (with other people, with oneself, with the world around, or with ‘Life’ itself) is traumatised or broken. A bad trauma in one of the ?rst three relationships can lead to damage to the last of them – that of the relationship with Life itself. For example, a wife deserted by her husband for another woman may not only feel devastated by the loss of her partner around the place, but may also feel a pain caused by the shattering of her beliefs about life (about faithfulness, hope, love, security, etc.). It is as if there is a picture at the centre of each person of what life should be about – whether or not held in a frame by a belief in God; this picture can be smashed by a particular trauma, so that nothing makes sense any more. The individual cannot get things together; everything loses its meaning. This shattering of someone’s picture of life is the source of the deepest pain in any spiritual trauma. The connection is often made between spiritual pain and meaninglessness. If the shattering of the picture, on the other hand, is done by the individual – for instance, by breaking his or her own moral or religious code – the pain may take the form of guilt and associated feelings. Hence, the therapist will be intent upon helping a client to recognise and come to terms with this ‘pain beneath the pain’.... spiritual pain
Back pain is usually an affection caused by both external and internal problems.
Standing too long, pregnancy, weight lifting or pulmonary problems could cause severe back pains.
Other than a prolonged pain localized in your back area, this affection could also interfere with your coronary and circulatory systems: the blood pressure is high and it’s hard for your heart to pump oxygen in your system.
How a Tea for Back Pain Works
A Tea for Back Pain’s main purpose is to make your body release enough endorphins to induce a state of calmness and well-being to your entire organism.
In order to do that, a Tea for Back Pain must contain an important amount of nutrients, acids, volatile oils, antioxidants, enzymes and minerals (such as sodium, iron, magnesium and manganese).
Efficient Tea for Back Pain
An efficient Tea for Back Pain must show results as quickly as possible and be one hundred percent sure (when choosing an herbal treatment, always be well informed of the risks).
If you don’t know which teas could have a positive effect on your health, here’s a list for guidance:
- Ginger Tea – will bring relief to your pain and improve your general health in no time. You can also take it in case you’re suffering from anemia, asthenia, loss of appetite or headaches.
However, in order to avoid other health complications, make sure you’re using a small amount of herbs when preparing this decoction. Otherwise, you might develop an acid foods and drinks intolerance.
- Turmeric Tea – not very popular among Europeans, this Tea for Back pain acts as a great pain reliever, calming all your affected areas and restoring your general health in no time.
You may also want to try it in case you’re suffering from inflammations, bruises, spreads, skin or digestive issues. Make sure you don’t drink more than 2 cups per day and everything will be fine.
- Valerian Tea – used as a great sedative since ancient times, when the Greeks and the Romans drank a cup of it before every night, this Tea for Back Pain will nourish your nervous system and bring relief to your wounded areas.
However, make sure you pay attention to the amount of tea you’re ingesting in order to avoid hallucinations and even death.
Tea for Back Pain Side Effects
When taken properly, these teas are generally safe. However, exceeding the number of cups recommended per day may lead to a series of affections, such as nausea, upset stomach, vomiting and even death.
If you’ve been taking one of these teas for a while and you’ve noticed some unusual reactions from your body, ask for medical assistance immediately!
If you have the green light from your doctor and there’s nothing that could interfere with your treatment, choose a Tea for Back Pain that fits best your needs and enjoy its health benefits!... tea for back pain
Menstrual pain is known for its acute and localized action on the abdominal area. However, not all women suffer from this affection.The good thing about menstrual pain, however, is that this is not a chronic disease and that it can go away as quickly as it came to you.
All you have to do is treat it properly and wait for your body to respond. If the pain is very powerful and you need to put a stop to it, you may want to try taking an herbal treatment, in which case Raspberry leaf tea, Corn silk tea and Wild yam tea could be the answer.
How Teas for Menstrual Pain Work
Most of these Teas for Menstrual Pain involve helping your body release the right amount of endorphins in order to fight localized pain. Although menstrual pain is probably the most popular cause of distress for women around the world, alternative medicine found new ways to fight it alongside with traditional medicine.
However, choosing one of these Teas for Menstrual Pain will only make your system healthier, without having to worry for possible side effects. The main characteristic of these Teas for Menstrual Pains is that they have a pleasant taste and fragrance and that they are generally safe, unlike traditional medicines.
A cup of raspberry leaf tea brings relief to your abdominal area, by calming the muscles and increasing the uterus action.
Efficient Teas for Menstrual Pain
If you have a heavy menstrual flow or a severe pain crisis during periods, you may find out that the following Teas for Menstrual Pain could be the right answer to your problems:
- Cramp Bark Tea – thanks to its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, Cramp Bark Tea is one of the best Teas for Menstrual Pain there is! Unfortunately, it’s rather inaccessible to the European public.
However, if you find a shop that specializes in Cramp Bark products, hold on to it! Cramp Bark Tea can also be used as a detoxifier and a good face cleanser; when used topically, it may bring relief to your skin sores.
- Raspberry Leaf Tea – this is a tea that may also come in hand in case you want to perform natural cosmetic procedures at home. Just soak a compress in Raspberry Leaf Tea and apply it on your face for 5 minutes to open and clean your pores. However, a cup of Raspberry Tea per day will improve your general health, bringing relief to those of you who are suffering from severe menstrual pain.
- Corn Silk Tea – on this Teas for Menstrual Pain list, Corn silk Tea use needs extra caution. It is true that it can calm your menstrual pain, but you also need to measure the amount of tea you drink in order to avoid other complications: Corn Silk Tea is a very powerful urinary stimulant.
- Wild Yam Tea – one of the most dangerous Teas for Menstrual Pain, Wild Yam Tea can bring relief to all kinds of pain, starting with menstrual pain, stomach pain and ending with migraines and severe headaches. However, don’t take this tea if you have protein S deficiency or a hormone-sensitive condition, such as breast cancer, uterine fibroids or endometriosis.
Teas you should avoid
During menstruation, you may want to avoid all teas based on a high level of acids, such as green or black teas . They will only make your pain insufferable, by increasing your stomach acidity and also your heart beat.
Teas for Menstrual Pain Side Effects
When taken according to specifications, these Teas for Menstrual Pain are rarely dangerous.
However, if you’ve been taking one of them for a while and you’re experiencing some unusual reactions from your body, talk to a doctor as soon as possible. In high dosages, these teas may cause urinary dysfunctions, nausea, headaches and vomiting.
First, make sure you’re not allergic to the tea you’re about to take in order to avoid other health complications. Once you have the green light from your doctor, give these Teas for Menstrual Pain a try and enjoy their wonderful benefits wisely!... teas for menstrual pain
See: ANALGESICS. ... pain-relievers
See temporomandibular joint syndrome.... myofascial pain syndrome
Thyme Tea has been used since the old times to cure respiratory problems thanks to a very important volatile oil called thymol that acts as an antiseptic. Thyme is a perennial edible herb with small green leaves and lavender purple flowers.
The best thing about it is that can be harvested all year round, even if in the winter the roots are frozen and dried and you need to pay more attention. Thyme is usually pest free, but if you’re thinking about growing it in your backyard, watch out for greenfly.
Thyme Tea Properties
Thyme Tea is usually added in cures concerning coughs, cold or fever episodes, not to mention its anti-fungal properties. Thanks to this particular quality, Thyme Tea is used to treat athlete’s foot and other skin conditions. The main ingredient of this tea is thymol, which has been discovered recently. However, people used to drink Thyme Tea for ages thanks to its curative properties.
Thyme Tea Benefits
The benefits of Thyme Tea are many, starting with its wonderful help concerning chest and respiratory problems, sore throat or even flatulence. Also, Thyme Tea it’s a great remedy for menstrual pains and premenstrual symptoms as well. The thymol found in this tea is used by the great medical companies to produce mouthwashes to treat gums infections and any other respiratory track inflammation.
Thyme Tea had expectorant properties and it’s prescribed by many doctors as an adjuvant in clearing lung mucus. And let’s not forget the wonderful benefits that Thyme Tea offers when treating some of the digestive track problems such as excessive flatulence, nausea, indigestion, colic and loss of appetite. Aside from that, you can apply Thyme leaves on your cuts and opened wounds in order to disinfect and calm the affected area.
How to make Thyme Tea
Preparing Thyme Tea is easy. If you want to make 2 cups of tea, you need 2 cups of boiling water and 2 teaspoons of Thyme leaves. First, finely chop the herbs and pour the boiling water over it. Let it steep for about 10 or 15 minutes, depending on how concentrated you want it to be. You can drink it hot or keep it in your refrigerator and drink it cold whenever you want. However, don’t let the herbs boil too much: boiled plants lose their curative properties and you’ll not be able to try Thyme Tea’s wonderful benefits.
Thyme Tea Side Effects
According to many herbalists, drinking too much Thyme Tea can cause allergic reactions in your body or even increase its toxicity level. Also, if you are allergic to rosemary, basil, catmint, hyssop, oregano and celery, you’ll also be allergic to this tea. The best thing you can do is talk to your doctor before starting a treatment based on Thyme Tea. If you don’t know which aliments and teas cause you allergic reactions, see a specialist before taking any type of herbal treatment.
Thyme Tea Contraindications
Do not take Thyme Tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Also, if you are experiencing vomiting episodes, it is best to talk to your doctor before making any move. Since Thyme Tea causes a highly expectorant reaction, it is indicated to drink a small quantity of it in order to avoid ulcers and other gastric problems. Drinking Thyme Tea usually causes no problem if you don’t drink more than 2 cups per day.
So, if you have a sore throat and you are willing to try a natural remedy, Thyme Tea can be the right answer. Just pay attention to our indications and enjoy the wonderful benefits of this tea!... thyme tea treats menstrual pains
Herbs taken orally for relief of mild pain. May also be applied externally. An analgesic may also be an antispasmodic, relieving cramp (Cramp bark etc.). Throughout history, Opium Poppy has always been the most effective analgesic, but must be given by a qualified medical practitioner except applied externally as a poultice. The same rule may apply to Aconite, Arnica and Belladonna.
Mild analgesics:– Black Cohosh, Black Willow, Catnep, Chamomile, Cowslip root (Bio-Strath), Cramp bark, Devil’s Claw, Gelsemium, Guaiacum, Hops, Jamaican Dogwood, Ladyslipper, Lobelia, Passion flower, Rosemary, Skullcap, St John’s Wort, Skunk Cabbage, Valerian, White Willow bark, Wild Lettuce, Wild Yam, Wintergreen, Yerbe Mate tea, Poke root, White Poplar.
Skullcap, Mistletoe, Valerian and Feverfew are herbs of choice. All four are believed to have an anti- prostaglandin effect, the first three given in combination; the latter (Feverfew) appearing to work best singly. ... analgesics - pain-relievers - anodynes
See analgesic drugs.... painkillers
See abdominal pain.... pelvic pain
See dysmenorrhoea.... period pain
Pain in the central region of the chest, behind the sternum. Causes include irritation of the oesophagus, angina pectoris, or myocardial infarction. (See also chest pain.)... retrosternal pain
Pain in a testis may be caused by mild injury, a tear in the wall of the testis due to a direct blow, orchitis, epididymo-orchitis, and torsion of the testis (see testis, torsion of). Sometimes, no cause is found and the pain disappears without treatment. If the wall of the testis is torn, an operation to repair it may be needed. ... testis, pain in the
see persistent idiopathic facial pain.... atypical facial pain
see persistent idiopathic facial pain.... chronic idiopathic facial pain
(CPP) intermittent or constant pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis of at least six months’ duration, not occurring exclusively with menstruation or intercourse and not associated with pregnancy. It may be caused by an underlying gynaecological condition, such as *endometriosis or adhesions, but bowel or bladder disorders (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis), visceral hypersensitivity, and psychological conditions may all contribute.... chronic pelvic pain
a clinic that specializes in the management and relief of pain. Pain clinics are usually directed by anaesthetists.... pain clinic
see Gardner–Diamond syndrome.... painful bruising syndrome
n. (in pharmacy) a liquid preparation that is applied to the skin or mucous membranes. Paints usually contain antiseptics, astringents, caustics, or analgesics.... paint
(atypical facial pain, chronic idiopathic facial pain) a chronic pain in the face that has no known cause and does not fit the classic presentation of other cranial neuralgias. It may be stress-related, and in some cases appears to be associated with defective metabolism of *tyramine. Treatment may involve the use of antidepressants.... persistent idiopathic facial pain
pain without prior exertion, usually experienced in the feet or chest (*angina pectoris), that indicates an extreme degree of *ischaemia.... rest pain
(CRPS, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, RSD, Sudek’s atrophy) neurological dysfunction in a limb following trauma, surgery, or disease, characterized by intense burning pain, swelling, stiffness, and sweaty shiny mottled skin. It is caused by overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. The *ESR is often elevated, X-rays may reveal some patchy osteoporosis, and a bone scan usually demonstrates increased blood flow. Early treatment with splinting and physiotherapy are essential, in combination with *sympatholytic drugs, corticosteroids, and regional sympathetic blocks; *sympathectomy may be required in chronic cases.... complex regional pain syndrome
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