Holistic Chronic Pain Management: Natural Therapies and Supplements

Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda

Posted by Laura (Courtland, CA) on 10/26/2007
★★★★★

I Was so happy to find your website-I was looking for a natural approach to uping my DHEA level as my test results showed very low-As I am 46 and entering into the change of life I was frustrated with my weight gain and came upon the stories of ACV-Well I started to take the 2tbl. ACV to 1/4 tsp of baking soda, with a dash of cayenne and a skirt of lemon in 1/2 cup warm water....what I didn't expect to experience immediately was that the pain associated by my 12 year bout with slipped ribs and vertebrae problems disappeared within 20 minutes-hopefully now my body can heal itself rather than trying to quiet the agonizing heat of inflammation-Alleluia, the journey has just begun, healing is indeed something we can all do for ourselves. I have spread the word and for those of you with daily pain...it is the easiest thing you can do- Thank you so much..

Ginger Root

Posted by Suzanne (London) on 11/15/2006
★★★★★

I have suffered from very bad arthritis for some years and also osteoporosis of the spine. I used to dread winters even though I was prescribed anti-inflamatory pills and painkillers by my doctor. I recently discovered ginger root (I found a newspaper article about ginger that I had put away some years ago) and have been taking it for about 3 weeks now in capsule form from the health food shop. The stiffness has gone from my joints and spine and most of the pain which is gradually disappearing. In fact, the other day I realized that I didn't have any pain or stiffness at all. It is such a great remedy that I am recommending it to everybody I know who has arthritis.

Arm Circles

Posted by Jason (California ) on 06/02/2023
★★★★★

Hi,

I had extreme shoulder pain and limited movement as Little Wing described in a 2012 post on Magnesium Oil. Had also been looking into surgery, and had begun the process of having X-rays taken, when I remembered that we used to do arm circles in gym class for a warm up.

These arm circles are like this: hold your arms out to your sides, palms open, fingers extended. Begin rotating your arms in small circles. After doing this each night for a month, all of my movement limitations were gone!

For the pain, I saw in a video on YouTube to hold your arms out in front of you, clasp your left wrist with your right hand, and push your hands forward/ahead of you. Do the same thing, but overhead this time. Doing this for a month loosened up my shoulders and removed all pain!

Garlic in Honey

Posted by Jenny (CA) on 07/23/2021
★★★★★

This is just my personal experience, I am not a health professional. I have right breast pain that runs up my neck, radiates in my shoulder and down my arm into my hand.

I chop four garlic cloves and let sit for about 10 minutes to activate the Allicin, I then mix in raw honey about a tablespoon.

I chew a couple of times before I swallow and this provides pain relief almost instantly. It only lasts a few hours though.

Epsom Salt Soak, Hot and Cold Therapy

Posted by Teena (Melbourne, Australia) on 11/13/2018 232 posts

Alex, doctors can sometimes miss fractures on x-rays, I would be applying comfrey (knitbone) salve, and making an infusion to take internally. When I have good supply I consume it daily. Read the comfrey page here on EC for more info on this amazing herb.

Baking Soda

Posted by Art (California ) on 08/29/2018 2891 posts

It should be noted that one teaspoon of baking soda in a single dose can give some people diarrhea.

Art

Turmeric Pain Paste

Posted by Mama To Many (Tn) on 09/28/2017

Dear Michael,

If you mean can you make your own turmeric capsules at home, yes. I have done so for years. It makes it quite inexpensive and you are assured of quality.

I bought a little capsule maker. It makes 24 at a time. I get organic turmeric root and empty capsules that fit the capsule maker. (I like the 00 kind as they are a bit larger. 5 capsules is about 1 teaspoon)

Once I fill the capsules, before putting the caps on, I use my pepper grinder to grind a bit of pepper into the capsules as the pepper is supposed to increase the effect of turmeric.

And yes, it helps with pain, inflammation, itching, infections. We use turmeric all the time.

~Mama to Many~

Anti-inflammatory Turmeric Elixir

Posted by Om (Hope, Bc, Canada) on 04/11/2015
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I am quite amazed. I have been taking Turmeric for umpteen years but now that an old injury started to cause bad pain from hip to ankle and did not go away, I found a very tasty drink which made it disappear. I had to repeat it about three days after the first drink. It is so good tasting and healthy --- so here it is:

3" piece root of ginger or 2 tblsp. powder.
The root can be juiced or slices simmered for short time in a very small amount of water.
4" piece of turmeric root OR 2 tsp. powder.
Juice of 3 lemons, organic if possible and utilize the skin for other uses.
dash cayenne
4 cups coconut water. Watch what quality
Raw honey to taste, not heated but warmed in a small glass inside a pot with warm water off the heat.

Store in fridge up to three days.

This is a refreshing drink. But any similar drink with turmeric will be good, too.

MahaNarayan oil on alternative days will also help a great deal for treatment of pain.

Namaste, Om

Coconut Oil and Charcoal

Posted by Charity (Faithville, Us) on 02/24/2015
★★★★★

Healing PORES on bottom of feet....Y E S, Amen!

I got the large bandaids( that have the tape part all around the edges of the cloth part) and put coconut oil on the cotton part and sprinkled activated charcoal powder on top of the oil and put on bottoms of my feet and went to bed. I also ate a capsule of activated charcoal at bedtime for a couple weeks.

In the morning all the pain in my feet I had for over a year was gone and that was three weeks ago and it hasn't returned. Ankles feel so nice now. They were miserable

Hallelu Yah

Sitting Indian Style

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 10/21/2013
★★★★★

Hi!

Last week I was traveling. The combination of almost 2,000 miles in the van plus not having access to my usual solutions (I brought a lot with me, but not everything! ) I ended up having terrible pain in my hip. My hip isn't great anyway. I have scoliosis and carrying babies and toddlers around on my hip for years hasn't helped. Also, I had a bone marrow biopsy (probably a bad idea) 15 years ago while trying to figure out what was going on with the ITP. It was done in the hip that gives me trouble. Anyway, it isn't usually too bad unless I am pregnant.

Each morning, after sleep my hip felt pretty good but by lunch time each day it was getting worse and worse. My hip seemed really tight, which made me think it was muscular. And I was feeling nerve pain in the leg...maybe inflammation pressing on the nerve?

By the grace of God, I decided to try some stretches - and ended up sitting Indian Style on the floor for 20 minutes each evening while I read. I also sat this way in the car some (I wasn't driving! ) The pain was improving daily and by the time I got home I didn't have any more pain. My chiropractor has done some stretches for my hip before that seem to stretch the same muscle that I feel stretching when I sit Indian Style. I am going to make an effort to sit this way each day some to keep myself more limber.

Hope that helps someone else.

I missed keeping up with EC posts while I was away!

Have a great day!

~Mama to Many~

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Kim (Essex) on 09/29/2013
★★★★★

Hi Earth Clinic, WOW what a fab site, my work mate told me about you as she had very painful hip and knee, she was in so much pain that I said to her perhaps you should go to the hospital... No joy there, x-rays and pain killers but nothing happened she was still in pain and this was after a couple of weeks, so she investigated some web-sites and yours came up, she had a good read through and found that Apple Cider Vinegar would do the trick... What has she to lose........... PAIN, after rubbing apple cider vinegar and honey on her hip and knee she was very surprised that the pain she had has gone to a very mild ache, and her skin is very smooth........... I am very interested in the natural healing, and am on your web-site quite a lot, thank you for such an easy site to find your allments. Keep up the good work. Kim

Apple Cider Vinegar, Blackstrap Molasses

Posted by Lynne (Long Beach, Ca) on 02/04/2012
★★★★★

I am 54yrs old. I have had a couple of injuries that continued to cause me pain in my neck and left shoulder. Also diagnosed with Degeneritive Arthitis in my neck, probably due to injuries. I was in so much pain in the morning, so stiff I could hardly move. Also pain thru out the day. I was miserable. This has been going on for approx. 6 yrs.

I came across this web site and read the many comments for BSM and ACV. I figured it couldn't hurt me any more that it already did. After using this formula, 2tsp of each in 6-8oz of warm water, 2x a day, on the 2nd day I was almost pain free. I got up that morning and I wanted to dance for joy!!! I have been using this formula ever since and I am pain free every day!!! Thanks to all of you that contributed your experiences so that I could have mine!

ACV, White Grape Juice

Posted by Donna (Seaside, Ca) on 05/22/2011
★★★★★

I have suffered greatly for 14 years with severe chronic pain, obesity, insomnia... You get the picture. I had been on a 'cocktail' of oxycodone (6 per day), MORPHINE (2x/day), 4 different muscle relaxers... and on top of that I would take 4 ibuprofen AND 4 naproxen sodium- all just for the pain. Then add in the sleep medication, valium, clonazepam- and still up almost all night with pain.

I was beginning to see the negative effects of all of this, and with no relief in sight except for when I took the narcotics, I decided to search and found this page about ACV.

After reading all the posts about ACV, I decided to try it right away. I knew I would have to cut it with something more palatable, so I followed the juice recipe.

1 c organic ACV
1 c organic white grape juice
2 c organic apple juice

I woke up the next morning with so little pain, I could actually get on the stationary bike and did 15 min in the morning and another in the pm. I also did my daily walk with the dog. She is a mastiff-size dog and at 11 mos. Is almost 90 lbs and she pulls on the leash, adding to my pain. Not that day- we got home without the usual added pain and I didn't have to rest for hours after.

I have kept a journal since the first day about my experience with ACV. Today will be my 7th day. Yesterday, my husband and I took the dog to the beach (her first time). I woke up with no pain at all that day and went to bed the same, even after running errands as well.

I am sleeping a bit better, have already stopped taking the oxycodone, morphone, all muscle relaxers, sleep meds, and valium.

My husband is in the Army and is really working hard on his physical training but he also deals with pain intermittantly. He has been doing this with me and feels no pain at all now.

We both have reflux issues andI take an Rx for it. The ACV will aggrevvate it for us both if not cut with juice and an equal amount of water (& ice). Then the taste is actually pretty good- like lemonade or something, and we just sip it all day, getting our 3 doses in.

Nature cured what 11 (yes, eleven) specialists could not. We will always use this from now on!

Blackstrap Molasses

Posted by Ann (Trinidad And Tobago) on 02/12/2011
★★★★★

My doctor indicated my right knee had a meniscus degenerative tear, I even got a second opinion and surgery was recommended. I was tired with the pain killers and I wanted also a natural form of calcium. A friend suggested I use Blackstrap molasses... I take a teasppon every morning before breakfast. I hardly experince pain, I have lost a few pounds and I feel great. Blackstrap molasses has add wonders to how I feel on a daliy basis... It is a renewed feeling. I have not done surgery.

ACV, Baking Soda, Lemon Juice, MSM

Posted by Lana (Texas) on 01/16/2021

Thanks for sharing. I was on psych meds for over 20 years and in constant pain in shoulders and most muscles in legs and back. I began to suspect these were causing the pain so detoxed for 3 months and walla! With a little exercise and losing a few pounds, the pain disappeared. Four years later now, I'm living mostly pain free, clear minded and thanking God for giving me the wisdom to do that.

Rocking Chair Therapy

Posted by mmsg (somewhere, europe) on 09/11/2022

Ahhhh MtM, so THAT'S why I love me some rocking chair time!

As a child, I would get nauseous on a swing but after starting on BSM a few years ago, I can rock and even read in a car!

Lysine

Posted by Tessa (Okanagan) on 07/19/2021

Hi HisJewel -

Glad to hear that lysine is working for your pain! I'm beginning to think it's one of those "unsung heroes" that not too many people know about. It's also good for cardiovascular health (among other things).

As part of Linus Pauling's cardiovascular protocol (which includes various nutrients), he recommended 1,000 mg lysine daily for prevention and up to 6 grams daily if you have heart disease.

As for exercise, I'm wondering if getting your lymph moving in a gentle way (like one poster, Cindy, recommends) by bouncing softly on your bed (feet on floor, bottom on a mattress with springs), a yoga ball (there are much smaller balls too that will do the trick), a rebounder or anything with "give" - just to help the flow.

I wish you all the best. Take care,

Tessa

Coconut Oil and Celtic Sea Salt

Posted by M. (Md) on 01/21/2021

Youtube has the remedy. It says 5 Tbsp.of salt.

Epsom Salt Soak, Hot and Cold Therapy

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 11/13/2018

Alex, rubbing castor oil into the painful areas a few times a day, did it for my wrist.

Baking Soda

Posted by Edward D. (East Tawas, Mi) on 08/29/2018
★★★★★

Arm and Hammer baking soda for pain. .....

I take 1 teaspoon in the morning, noon, night with 8 oz of water mix well until glass is clear. If. I have pain I add the same dosage every two hours.

Baking Soda

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 08/30/2018

Edward D. that sounds like a LOT of baking soda.... Make sure to watch out for side effects.

Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM

Posted by Martin (Atlanta, Ga) on 05/19/2018
★★★★★

I have hip and knee bursitis. Walking was very painful, esp in the hip joint on my right side. A sports friend told me to take Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM. I had side effects (headache, heart palps) at first and then had to break my capsules open and take only 1/4 of it to start. But after 2 weeks I stopped having pain and walking got easier. Wonderful supplements. Highly recommend to anyone with arthritis.

Turmeric Pain Paste

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 01/06/2017

Dear Michael,

Usually when using turmeric topically as a paste, I just add the amount of oil needed to get it to the consistency I think will be easiest to work with. You only need a little bit of black pepper to go with the turmeric. For a teaspoon of turmeric, less than 1/16 teaspoon of black pepper. Black pepper is called out because the piperine in the black pepper is what supposedly increases the effectiveness of turmeric. (I have used turmeric with and without pepper and am not positive there is a huge difference, but I also respect the advice of herbalist Stephen Buhner, who is one who says to add the pepper.)

Cayenne is a common catalyst for herbs, and may help the turmeric, but it does not have the piperine in it, so the "help" from cayenne may not be quite the same mechanism. I will be interested to hear how the turmeric works for you topically. I use it topically for skin infections and such, but for pain, tend to take it internally. I have found it helps with nearly any condition that ends with "itis." (as in bursitis.) "Itis" means inflammation and turmeric is my "go to" for inflammation of any sort.

~Mama to Many~

Turmeric Pain Paste

Posted by Tina (Princeton) on 01/06/2017

Hi Michael, I use a similar type of paste for minor aches and pains but would be hard- pressed to give you an exact recipe. It's kind of of how I cook Indian food - a little bit of that, a dash of this, and a pinch of something else! Here's what I do: in a small clean glass bowl put in a quarter to half tea spoon coconut oil, one measuring of turmeric powder from my dash-sized spoon ( I got it from Amazon) a pinch of pepper and 3-4 drops of DSMO. Mix everything and apply to the area after making sure it is clean. Massage it in well and leave for a few hours or at least an hour. It disappears into the skin quickly and only the golden stain remains. I also only use organic coconut oil, turmeric and pepper. Hope this helps!

Siphoning Energy Technique

Posted by Mary Beth (Pittsburgh) on 09/18/2016
★★★★★

To alieve pain from a burn, a technique called siphoning. Put your left hand (it must be the LEFT hand) -- on, over, or near the site of a burn. In my case, it was three square inches of a burn from boiling liquid. Then I put my RIGHT hand in a position that was below the left hand, on the right side of my body. In less than a minute, the pain from the burn lessened -- and was largely gone in a few more minutes. I learned this in an energy medicine class and from my Eden energy practitioner. I was amazed at how prompt the healing was in this instance.

Bill's Remedies

Posted by Bill (San Fernando, Philippines) on 03/28/2014
★★★★★

About a month ago I got out of bed one morning and couldn't walk very well. There was a continual dull pain in my upper left hip area that turned into a shooting pain whenever I tried to walk. It was quite painful and, much more annoying, prevented me from going on my walks every day.

I had a think and then took the following supplements:

A decoction of Makabuhay (Tinospora cordifolia) -- Also known as Gudduchi in Ayurvedic medicine. Took it to get rid of the pain -- worked a treat as usual. This is the best remedy I have for any inflammation or pain problems in the tissues. Half a glass of the decoction, with water and fresh fruit juice, twice a day. Very bitter.

Alpha Lipoic Acid (300 mgs twice a day with food)-- To heal any nerve problems.

Lugol's iodine -- 8 drops a day to kill any involved pathogens. Also helps to heal bone problems like osteoporosis.

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) -- To heal tissues problems and to reduce pain and inflammation. One teaspoon (5 grams) a day.

Brewer's Yeast -- One tablespoon a day to heal the nerves.

Borax (1/4 tspn per day in water) -- To kill any pathogens involved in any arthritic or rheumatic problems. Also balances hormones and removes fluoride from the body.

Magnesium Oil (sat solution of magnesium chloride) -- 10 drops twice a day to help heal bone/tissue problems.

This is how I took the supplements.

Took the Makabuhay first thing in the morning and last thing at night on its own. This remedy was free from my own garden.

Mixed Borax, MSM and Sodium Bicarbonate(1/2 tspn) in a large glass of water. Taken once a day. Sipped this throughout the day. Occasionally added magnesium oxide(1/4 tspn) to this mix for higher alkalinity. Taken outside mealtimes.

Drank lots of water.

Took Magnesium oil, Brewer's Yeast and ALA at mealtimes with a glass of water. If I got the ALA burning sensation after a meal -- I just took a glass of sodium bicarb with water (1/2 hour after the meal) which would get rid of this problem in minutes.

Lugol's Iodine -- 8 drops a day in a glass of water outside mealtimes on its own.

This protocol has worked well and the pain in my damaged hip has all but gone now but I'll be staying on this protocol for another month at least just to make sure.

Bill's Remedies

Posted by Bill (San Fernando, Philippines) on 04/01/2014

Hi Dave...Dr William Kelly was very successful against cancer and Nick Gonzales has been just as succesful. I read somewhere that in Nick's Metabolic Protocol for cancer, his patients take between 150 to 170 pills a day, as well as diet, enemas etc. In Max Gerson's cancer protocol, his cure appeared to be almost solely based on defending the liver at all costs -- by getting all the poisons and toxins out of the body as fast as possible using both the coffee enemas and castor oil laxatives at the same time (thus avoiding re-absorption and redistribution of both cancer toxins and heavy metals via the colon). For each cancer patient (all of them usually with Stage 4 cancer where the doctors had already given up hope), Gerson gave them 4 enemas a day and 4 enemas during the sleeping hours. That's 8 enemas every 24 hours!! Interestingly, Max Gerson originally started curing people of TB in 1928 with this protocol. Then, so the story goes, someone aproached him desperate to try his therapy for someone in the familly with cancer in the 1930s and his protocol worked -- and the rest is history.

Gerson's strategy of always protecting the liver is therefore pretty logical. Walter Last has written about pleomorphic microbes and describes his own belief that, especially in chronic autoimmune diseases, we have a sludge build-up in our blood(as we get older) that cannot be cleared -- so it never goes away but just keeps building up. It is here that this sludge -- which contains bits of proteins, DNA and RNA -- can suddenly develop on their own to become viruses. Depending on the state of the body at the time, these new dangerous pathogens will simply adapt and change into viruses, bacteria or fungus as their living medium(the host body) demands and end up causing or contributing to our vast array of idiopathic and autoimmune diseases that we have today. See Walter Last's detailed article here.

So this is where protease enzymes and other useful and helpful liver protocols(such as the coffee enema, ALA, Milk Thistle, Selenium, MSM etc) will help to clear these toxins, heavy metals, proteins and sludge from the blood.

Doctors are completely unable to cure autoimmune diseases because they think like this: One Disease -- One Germ -- One Cure. How wrong or dumb can they be ? Their strategy and treatment for any chronic auto-immune disease is always palliative -- just treat the symptoms. So its a fail for them in my book.

That's why treatments like CS or MMS or Hydrogen Peroxide are so useful -- they kill a wide range of pathogens in the blood.

Of all the high, respected professions in this world, I find it most peculiar that being a doctor is NOT a performance related profession (in terms of lives saved or improved). If modern medicine were indeed performance related then I'm pretty sure that there would be alot of doctors and specialists who would be jobless out on the street mumbling, "...But I was following the Standard of Care Manual...Honest!! ...And they still died!! ". I guess doctoring is no longer a free-thinking, common sense profession anymore. And, of course, DO NO HARM doesn't enter into any part of the equation now where another drug sale is involved.

Sorry, ranting a bit...