There are many different types of pain medication out there. If your in a quick pinch it may be helpful but relying on popping those medications in the long run can injure your organs which is no good. In this blog post I will discuss some simple ways to kick that habit and experience greater pain relief. 

Most of us know what it is like to experience pain but for some it becomes the norm. When we turn to things such as Ibuprofen or acetaminophen all day it can have drastic effects. One of the side effects of ibuprofen is that it can disturb the lining of your stomach and cause ulcers. It can be quite common if you use this on a regular basis. A common side effect of acetaminophen is liver damage. These are some of the things that you may not know about this but being aware of what you are taking is key to living healthy. 

When taking pain medications do they actually help the cause of the pain? If the pain is coming from a joint that has a lot of friction in it and becomes stuck is the medication correcting the problem? It is good for short term relief until the problem is corrected. Just like if the pain from a headache is due to not drinking enough water is the headache actually going to go away when you take the medication? Until you correct the problem then the pain is still there or will continue to be there. 

So in order to kick the pain medication habit we have to do several things. Identify what is causing the pain. That is the most crucial part.. What is causing it and seek to get rid of the cause. If we mask the symptoms all the time then they will still be there and continue to make things worse. So you must identify what is causing it. 

Secondly try a natural form of pain relief. Things such as topical analgesic which is something you put on your skin to alleviate the pain. How this combats pain is it triggers the body to become aware of the menthol or other ingredient and blocks pain signals from reaching the brain. This is cool stuff! This will help in the short term as well but it can be just as good as taking pain medication. A lot may know of biofreeze which is product that uses menthol to sooth pain away. This type of pain relief has the added benefit of no side effects. 

Next is getting the right nutrients into your body so that inflammation is not taking place. Eating foods such as vegetables or a clean type of meat with good healthy fats such as avocado, will do wonders for you body and pain. Your body will thank you!

Lastly is conservative care. This can be in the form of chiropractic, acupuncture or massage. This is where we get to what is actually causing the pain and correct it. If we need to be aligned then pain medication will not correct that. Only getting aligned from a chiropractor will correct that.  Again with muscles being tight and knotted up we see a massage therapist to keep those tissues in proper working order. 

These are some ways to start your path to not relying on pain medications, prescription or over-the-counter. It may not be as simple as you think but your body will benefit from correcting the cause not masking the symptoms!