Holistic Chronic Pain Management: Natural Therapies and Supplements

I had torn scar tissue on a ligament (old injury) in my right Buttock, which for weeks had caused severe pain when I walked. It was like an ice pick thrust into my hip. Having read about Lime juice buffered with Baking Soda I tried this Remedy two nights ago and awoke painfree and energectic the next morning. Unfortunately I had so much energy that I overdid it! Now, I have some tenderness at the site and in my back muscles but the sharp pain is still gone. The only negative effect is that I am dealing with frequent urination and diarrhea. I will continue the course of Lime juice and Baking Soda for 5 days and then rest for two. Thanks,

I had a calcified bursa on my right shoulder that had become so painful that, after six months of physical therapy, it was no better and I was scheduled for cortisone shots. I did not want them because of the immuno-suppressant tendency of cortisone. One night I had the impression to try a castor oil pack on it, just out of the blue. So I did. I wrapped my shoulder and underarm (after washing it) and left the pack on all night. In the morning the problem was 95% better. I did it four more nights and have not had the problem since. About five years now.

I am 65 years old and I had a severe hip injury 6 months ago and had great pain in walking and sitting. After taking hot baths with 2 cups of apple cider vinegar at bed time and showering clean then soaking myself in H2O2 I was able to walk and sit like a normal person the very next day.

Five days later I am putting in full days back at yoga and water aerobics. I tried full strength essental peppermint oil when I had over done it and went to bed pain free,

Margie at Wolfville, Nova Scotia

I have been using ACV in a tonic called Jogging in a Jug and literally within 24 hrs my knee, hip and shoulder pain have completely disappeared! I have been struggling with my shoulder pain for 12 yrs due to a car accident and my knee and hip pain for the last 2 yrs. What a miracle. I have told everyone I know about this tonic and they are all giving it a try!

Here is the recipe:

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

Mix all together. Take 1-2 oz daily before a meal. Keep refrigerated.

I didn't care for the tast at first, but now I love it. I had to plug my nose for the few days but now I can drink it just fine. My energy levels are back and I am sleeping more soundly at night. I love this stuff!!

Good Luck!

I was having pains in my legs to the point I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't walk thru a mall without getting a kink in my knees. My doctor put me on 50,000 units of vitamin D a week. The pain is gone. The pain returns if I am late by a few days of taking the vitamin D. I have a prescription for 50,000 iu's levels of Vitamin D have been linked with several types of cancer.Many in the helath field consider VITAMIN D is more of a hormone rather than a vitamin. It is very difficult to get enough sun for vitamin D. In fact, in the winter it is almost impossible to get enough sun for vitamin D if you live north of Atlanta, georgia.

To say I was horrified as I read all the info about aspartame on this website is an understatement!! I too was a diet coke drinker for years, anywhere from 2-5 a day. In the spring of 2004, I began experiencing severe pain in my left heel. As it got worse, I got a cortisone shot. The first shot worked great. However, about 5-6 months later when I started hobbling around again (I teach in an elementary school and am constantly on my feet)the second cortisone shot did not work. I used to use castor oil to treat carpal tunnel syndrome acquired during my previous employment. Or was it aspartame poisoning? Anyway, the castor oil worked really well--I massaged the foot every day for over 6 months, and then I read something in our local paper's "Ask the Doctor" column about a woman who had burning and pain in her feet, and she quit drinking diet coke. So did I, and lo and behold my symptoms started disappearing. I made the mistake of drinking a couple of diet sodas with Splenda (after reading all this I see that's not such a great idea either), and while the symptoms haven't been as proounced, I'm going to quit those too. I still massage my foot about every two weeks or so, and, oddly enough, the pain has moved from my heel to the top of my foot around the ankle area. I'm hoping all this will go away once I've eliminated splenda also. Thanks to everyone who took time to write---what an eye-opener!!

I was suffering unexplainable joint & muscle pain and, at least, 70% of my pain disappeared when I eliminated Aspartame in my diet. I have done great research on Aspartame and it poisons people. All diet products contain Aspartame and it is in over 5000 food and beverage products.

I am 28 and have been a vegetarian all my life. I have been taking cold showers for the last 12 years. I have a way of doing it. I start from my head and keep the water dripping on the head for a few seconds and I feel the rest of the body warming up. then i get into it. Talking about the advantages, Where can I start. Cold showers helped me get over the anxiety of the teen age, they have helped me concentrate in studies, feel confident when facing challenges and the list goes on. The recent example is when I had to undergo a knee reconstruction. It is a painful surgery and I was strongly advised by my surgeon to have pain killers for the next few months (I was told not to be brave and have a pill every time I was in pain). I had a better way out. It's been 6 months and not even 1 painkiller and no pain as well. I know there must be a number of factors but cold showers are the greatest. So keep the hot knob closed and keep the warmth coming out for good.

I'm having a hard time finding a beginning to describe what cold showers has done for me! first of all, this seems insane for me because i'm such a cold natured person. But since i've tried this i find that i'm not so cold anymore! I work out every day and play tennis twice a week, but first let me say i'm in my mid 40's, i have 4 children (two in their 20's and two are not yet school age) so keeping fit and appearance are very important to me! I've always been told i look half my age, but what i've noticed more than anything is my skin!! The improvement in tone is just amazing to me. The first few days (after showering in the cold) i just kept looking at my face in the mirror. Only after a few days of cold showers i noticed a difference in the way i felt, my energy, metabolism, skin, and my pain!!! i had a hip injury almost 8 months ago and i've been doing strengthening excersizes and therapy to help this slow healing process, but after taking the showers i've had almost NO pain!! that has been the most amazing part to me. I'm hooked. I'll never go back to warm showers (except when necessary) I only wish i had known about this years ago! But i can tell you, it's never too late!!!

I read about the cold showers here 3 days ago. I have experienced whole body pain for as long as I can remember. Recently it has become unbearable to try and sleep without double doses of over the counter pain killers. The legs throbbed, prickley needles in the soles of the feet, leg muscle pain, skin pain, hip pain, numbness in the shin area. It was building up for years. I was ready to check myself in somewhere but I do not go to doctors. Anyway to continue. After reading the messages, I went and took a cold shower. This was the afternoon. Just before retiring I took another. This one really affected my body. Gasping and panting but not painful I stayed in the shower. For the first time since I could remember I had a peaceful night sleep. No pain in the legs at all, no numbness, no prickleys. I took three the next day with the same good results at night but with one more added strangeness. My Bowel Movement turned green. Not a dark green a kackie green and I was not constipated as usual. I gathered my bile was flowing. I had come to think I had a gallblader problem years ago but never associated the whole body aches with it. There might be some siatic nerve situation involved also, but I don't know. All I do now is that this seems just short of a miracle for me. I certainly hope it continues, because I don't know if I ever want to take another hot bath again as long as I live. Oh, the energy and high spirits are there too as others reported. Bless you all.

I am very delighted to read all the good positive stories about cold water shower healing. Allow me to share my story.

I am a Moslem (from Indonesia), and the month of Ramadhan (fasting) was just over. For those not familiar with this, Moslems fast for 30 days during the Ramadhan month, every day, wake up at dawn (around 3 AM), have meal, fast during the day (no drinking no eating no sex), and break the fast at around 6 PM.

I have this problem with my right leg knee, it gives me pain when I bend during a prayer. For one month of Ramadhan, I "practiced" the cold water shower each time I wake up, at around 2:30 AM. After that, I pray (the so called "night prayer"), and have meal. To the best of my knowledge there is no reference in Al Quran about taking shower at "night", although there is the so called "night prayer" which is not obligatory, but very strongly advised for Moslems, and it takes time somewhere between 2:30 and 3:30 AM. We call it the "last one-third of the night".

I just felt I had to heal myself this way, because I heard many times especially from elders and those "natives" coming from rural villages, of cold water shower "healing", which normaly takes time between 2 and 4 AM. Many people here say, it's not healthy to take shower at night, before 12 AM, but it's healthy if taken after say, 1 AM. Some martial arts practitioners here do take shower after evening/night training, at around 1-2 AM or later. I had a friend who literally couldn't walk, not paralyzed but pain in both his legs (thigh), was eventually healed, Praise Allah, could walk (and run) normally again after spending about a month or so taking cold water shower from a well (using bucket / dousing) every night (at around 3 AM).

Back to myself, Praise Allah, after 30 days of night cold water shower, I do feel better now. I can bend my knee again, with less pain.

Perhaps someone have an explanation about the "state" of water during the night, especially between 2 and 4 AM ?

There was a terrific posting of a WAV file of a cat's purring that helps in inflammation/pain management. I find that when I listen to this file that I feel great relief from arthritic pain. The problem is that I am only able to play the file while sitting at my computer. I want to make it more mobile-friendly and listen to it while away from home. Is there a way to download this onto my computer as an mp3 file? I could then transfer it to my mp3 player for portability. For those who have not tried this, it has been a great pain reliever.

I have been very sick for 14 years, with arthritis and severe bone spurs. Last month a lady heard about my sickness and gave me this recipe. 1-64 oz.pure apple juice, 1-64 oz.pure grape juice. 1 cup apple cider vinegar. Mix well,place in your refrigerator, drink 1/3 cup of mixture 3 times a day. I was also told to take 250 mg. Magnesium oxide,(this promotes bone and muscle health, and 250 mg.super b-complex.take as instructed on bottle. Good luck!

I have a weather map on my hip! I was surprised to come out of my house and have 2 inches of rain at my feet, and not know we had rain coming................ can it be the apple cider vinegar, (which I've only used for a week), is taking that annoying pain away, when bad weather is coming? YEAH!

I have been drinking ACV to help with the pain I have received from Sciatica and it did seem to help. Do you have any suggestions about the natural thing to do about that type of pain?