Tai Chi: Proven Natural Pain Relief for Osteoarthritis

In the U.S. alone, there are about 4.3 million adults aged 60 and above diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Because this condition manifests with joint pain, a lot of people suffering from osteoarthritis have  great disability. Osteoarthritis pain can greatly reduce the quality of your life. Thankfully, research shows that Tai Chi can help you overcome osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis involves gradual degeneration of the joints, with wearing and thinning of the cartilage. If you are suffering from osteoarthritis, you are bound to experience not only pain, but also limited joint movements. Both of these symptoms can greatly change the way you function everyday.

 

What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi has gained popularity over the years. It is commonly used as an exercise regimen, not only in China but all over the world:

• Tai Chi, or Chuan, is a classic method of martial arts in China. It improves the body’s function and flexibility.
• It is an exercise that involves rhythmic, slow movements. Tai Chi improves strength, balance, and quality of life.
• The regularity and slow pace of Tai Chi provides mental relaxation.

How should Tai Chi be performed?

• Tai Chi should be performed for one hour, twice weekly. In order to reap the most benefits, Tai Chi should be continued for 3 months.
• First ten minutes should involve self massage and a brief review of the principles of Tai Chi. Massage promotes blood flow to the joints and increased endorphin levels. The Tai Chi review jogs your memory, helping you stay sharp and focused.
• The next half hour should be dedicated to exercise movements of Tai Chi. These slow and rhythmic movements help you become limber. They also promote flexibility, balance, and strength, all of which play a role in reducing the manifestations and pain of osteoarthritis.
• The next ten minutes will be devoted to breathing techniques. Breathing techniques are an effective way to relax your mind and body. They help promote mental well-being, helping increase your threshold for pain.
• The last ten minutes involve relaxation. This is another feature of Tai Chi that helps improve your general outlook in life. Mental relaxation helps you cope better with the chronic pain of osteoarthritis.

Read about the results of the research done on Tai Chi and osteoarthritis pain relief.

Has Tai Chi helped improve your life? Share your success story in the comments section below!

Sources:

Arthritis Care and Research

www.medscape.com

Cold Therapy and Heat Therapy for Pain

Heat therapy and cold therapy both serve to relieve pain; however, they have different indications and act via different mechanisms.

Although relatively safe, both heat therapy and cold therapy have certain contraindications. Some conditions will benefit greatly from cold therapy but will suffer adverse effects from heat therapy. Other conditions are better off with heat therapy. Others still can benefit from either, achieving effective pain relief from both temperature modalities.

How is cold therapy different from heat therapy?

It is important to understand how cold therapy and heat therapy differ from each other:

• Stiff joints will benefit more from heat therapy. Cold therapy may increase joint stiffness.
• Heat therapy, especially when involving large areas of the body, may decrease blood pressure as blood pools in the warmed areas. Cold therapy may increase blood pressure. Therefore, hypertensive patients have an added benefit of lowered BP from heat therapy, while cold therapy is useful in situations like acute hemorrhage where a stable blood pressure is vital.
  To read the rest of the list, read heat therapy versus cold therapy.

When is cold therapy contraindicated?

Some conditions benefit more from cold therapy than heat therapy. Others, however, should stay away from cold therapy:

• A person suffering from hypertension should use cold therapy with extreme caution. Cold therapy constricts the blood vessels, raising the blood pressure. This poses a risk for you if you are already hypertensive.
• People with Raynaud’s disease should avoid cold therapy. Raynaud’s disease is a condition that gets worse when blood vessels constrict.
• If you have rheumatoid arthritis, cold therapy will barely be beneficial. Consequently, heat therapy is a better recommendation.
• People suffering from blood vessel impairment, such as frostbite and arteriosclerosis, should stay away from cold therapy modalities. Further blood vessel constriction may complicate the situation.
• There are people who are “allergic” to cold; they should avoid cold therapy to prevent anaphylactic shock. Also known as cold urticaria or cold allergy, this is a potentially dangerous condition that may end in anaphylaxis.
• People who have paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria are not allowed to use cold therapy. When exposed to cold, these people exhibit blood in their urine.
• For similar reasons, people with cryoglubulinemia should avoid cold therapy.
  What conditions will benefit more from cold therapy? Read how heat therapy versus cold therapy affect conditions in different ways.

Has cold therapy given you relief from pain? Share your story and leave a comment below!

Research Shows Massage is a Natural Pain Remedy

More often than not, massage does provide a certain degree of pain relief. But as to whether this relief is merely psychological or not has always been debated.

Lately, a review of computer databases was done to look for evidence of massage therapy’s power to provide natural pain remedy. Existing research has shown mixed results, indicating that massage can be effective for some conditions while providing only modest relief for others.

Massage has repeatedly been anecdotally proven to provide pain relief; therefore, different studies have been done to try to study the relationship between massage and therapeutic pain relief. Unfortunately, evidence has been inconsistent. Also, different reviews frequently try to establish the relationship between massage therapy and one painful condition at a time; therefore, evidence will vary based on which condition is being studied.

Because of this inconsistency, a review was done to help prove the pain relief brought about by massage for many non-malignant and chronic conditions.

How was this evidence gathered?

The review focused on research that tried to study massage as a standalone treatment, rather than as an adjunct to other pain treatment modalities. This helps ensure that any pain relief from drugs and other treatment will not be misconstrued as having been brought about by massage.

Results of the review showed that massage is effective, but in different degrees, depending on the condition.

Which painful conditions may benefit only slightly from massage therapy?

• Fibromyalgia. Past studies showed that there is only modest supporting research to back up the beneficial effects of massage on pain due to fibromyalgia.
• Neck pain. Evidence is not very strong regarding the therapeutic effects of massage therapy on neck pain.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive injury causing hand and wrist pain. Unfortunately, research does not provide strong support for the beneficial effects of massage on pain from carpal tunnel syndrome.

What conditions have been proven to benefit from massage therapy?

For a short list of painful conditions which massage therapy has been proven to relieve, read this.

Source: “Effectiveness of Massage Therapy for Chronic, Non-malignant Pain: A Review” by Jennie Tsao