Complementary Treatments for Pain

Certain treatments, often called complementary therapies, don't use medications. Yet they have been shown to be powerful aids in reducing pain, curbing drug side effects, boosting energy level and mood, and promoting an overall improvement in quality of life.

Such treatments are being incorporated more and more into mainstream medical care. You can learn to use some of these methods yourself (for example, visualization or yoga). For others, like acupuncture or hypnosis, you need a therapist skilled in the technique.

Don't be embarrassed to mention your interest in these therapies to your doctor. She or he may even be able to refer you to a practitioner.

Integrated care

In integrated care, complementary and conventional therapists work together. This provides the best of both worlds for many people.

At a pain clinic affiliated with the U.S. National Institutes of Health, between 50% and 80% of pain treatment methods do not use medication. The facility offers acupuncture, music therapy, massage, relaxation, hypnosis, and Reiki therapy (a form of natural healing), as well as programs using pet therapy and art therapy. Professionals in these methods work with nurses, doctors, and medical therapists.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you are interested in, or are using, any complementary treatments.

If you're taking herbal supplements and are on chemotherapy, bring a list of those supplements to the chemotherapy doctor to make sure that what you are taking is helpful and not harmful.

Here are some of the complementary healing techniques you may want to try:

• Acupuncture
• Acupressure (includes shiatsu and reflexology—foot acupressure)
• Visualization
• Meditation
• Music
• Hypnosis
• Biofeedback
• Massage
• Yoga
• Exercise
• Spiritual healing (includes Reiki—spiritual healing by applying "life energy")
• Homeopathy
• Naturopathy
• Applied kinesiology—muscle testing and balancing
• Ayurveda—a system developed in India that uses pulse diagnosis and dietary approaches