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Pain Relief – The Real Value of Alternative Medicine for Endometriosis Pain

Over 5 ½ million women in the United and Canada, the pain from endometriosis is all too real. Because the tissue that n lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, these women suffer through many various pain symptoms. Whether they experience excessive bleeding, lower back and abdominal pain, or infertility (inability to become pregnant), most women with this disease seek endometriosis pain relief treatments and products that provide effective pain relief.

Endometriosis pain treatment is available in many forms, such as over-the-counter medication, hormone therapy, and surgical options.

However, for some women, the side effects of these manufactured medicines are not worth the end result. Many women tend to find relief using a more natural method of endometriosis pain treatment.

Natural Endometriosis Pain Treatment Options

Speak to your doctor before you try a natural method of endometriosis pain treatment to make sure what you have is truly endometriosis. If your doctor agrees that a natural method of endometriosis pain treatment is right for you, begin treatment. Some of your alternative endometriosis pain treatment options include:

  • Acupressure. Acupressure is a Chinese method of pain relief that relies on pressure to stimulate channels of energy. Acupressure is a successful endometriosis pain treatment for women experiencing painful cramps. Find a doctor who is accredited to practice both conventional medicine and acupressure.
  • Acupuncture. Chinese medical practitioners believe that acupuncture is a very effective endometriosis pain treatment. Combined with herbal therapy, acupuncture regulates stagnant blood, which causes much of the inflammation and pain of endometriosis. It will require a few treatments before you experience any material results. If results are not apparent by the 3rd treatment, discontinue or find another practitioner .
  • Herbal Medicine. Many believe that specific medicinal plants can heal a patient naturally. For endometriosis pain treatment, herbs are first taken to rebalance the hormone levels in the body. Then, other herbs are used to strengthen the immune system. These herbs will eventually lead to the elimination of the disease. One of the most effective herbal formulated products on the market is a product called Menastil, with its penetration agent derived from the Calendula flower. Menastil is a topically applied, non-addictive, non-narcotic pain relief solution that has proven very effective for endometriosis pain relief.
  • Exercise. Do not underestimate the amazing health benefits of exercise. Simple exercises, such as aerobics, walking and swimming, can help prevent cramps, improve circulation, and relax the uterus.
  • Aromatherapy. Essential oils, like chamomile, lavender, and jasmine can reduce endometriosis adhesions. These oils along with massage therapy can strengthen the immune system, help with sleep issues, and heal muscles and tissues.

The focus of alternative medicine is to help the body heal itself naturally. Who knows? Alternative medicine used as endometriosis pain treatment may be able to help you cope with your painful symptoms.

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What is Alternative Medicine ?

Alternative and complementary medicine has swept through the world as people seek greater control of their health. It is now a popular belief that whatever ails man, the underlying cause is within himself, thus the word dis-ease.

Alternative medicine refers to practices not used by conventional medicine. Seeking alternative medicine means a referral to a homeopath or a naturopath instead of your regular doctor. The alternative practitioner do not intend for their clients stop receiving conventional care. They strive to develop a way to work alongside the family doctor with the best interest of the client in mind.

Alternative medicine is a part of complementary medicine, which means alternative practice is used with conventional medicine in treatment of a disease or illness.

Practitioners of alternative medicine use some basic and common principles, which may be similar to what conventional medicine offers.

Basic principles or alternative medicine:

LEARNING AND HEALING

Alternative practitioners believe that they can guide a patient to find ways to heal themselves. They act as mentors.

HOLISTIC CARE

Holistic care involves treating the whole person, not just the present ailment. Alternative medicine focus on treating the whole person, it recognizes that the physical, mental, spiritual and relationships are interconnected and these play a major role in staying healthy or cause of being sick. You cannot take these factors singly and treat these separately.

PREVENTION

This is an important factor in staying healthy, also prescribed by conventional medicine. Stay healthy, eat healthy, take good care of your health.

BODY ‘S ABILITY TO HEAL ITSELF

Alternative practitioners consider themselves as facilitators. It is within us to heal ourselves. Alternative therapy encourages the natural healing process.

LIFESTYLE

Our world today is too hurried, we seek too much instant gratification. A 24-hour day sometimes is not enough. This fast-paced lifestyle puts too much emphasis on the material world. It does not leave much time to look after the whole person, that is mind, body and spirit.

THERAPIES IN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

It is not a very clear system, some therapies may interlap with another. Some techniques may apply to other therapies.

HEALING SYSTEMS

These are sets of theories or practices or remedies. The focus of these therapies is on the power of nature or the energy field of the human body. Take massage- it is not a single practice or remedy. Many of these healing systems have been used before conventional medicine came to existence. Think of the medicine man of the North American Indians and other cultures. The Chinese have practised acupuncture, there is the Ayurvedic from India, and others.

CATEGORIES OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Ayurveda

This has been practised in India for thousands of years. The emphasis is a unique cure based on individual circumstances. Treatment may include yoga, meditation, diet, massage and herbs.

Homeopathy.

Minute doses of a substance is administered to stimulate the self-healing process of the body.

Naturopathy.

This is a non-invasive treatment to encourage the body to do its own healing. Naturopaths combine different forms of alternative and complementary medicine to stimulate healing. It may include massage, acupuncture, life-style counseling, exercise, diet and use of herbs and its derivatives.

Ancient medicines.

There is wisdom to be learned from the past practitioners of alternative and complementary medicine- although these were not labelled as such then. These include American Indians, Chinese, Pacific Islanders, Mayan Indians, Tibetan practitioners and others.

Mind-body connections

Mind-body techniques strengthen the communication between your mind and your body. Complementary and alternative medicine practitioners say these two systems must be in harmony for you to stay healthy. Examples of mind-body connection techniques include:

  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Biofeedback
  • Prayer
  • Hypnosis
  • Relaxation and art therapies, such as poetry, music and dance

Dietary supplements and herbal remedies

Herbs are so popular these days. Almost every household have a bottle or two.These medicines use ingredients found in Nature, they have been used long before conventional medicine was implemented and subscribed to. Examples are echinecea, ginseng, gingko, supplements like glucosamine, essiac, selenium Omega-3 are just a few on the long list. Herbs and supplements can be taken as tea, oils, syrups, powders, tablets or capsules.

CAUTION

It is advisable to consult with your family doctor, advise him of the natural supplements you are taking. Be aware of drug interaction especially if you are pregnant, nursing a baby, have chronic illness, elderly or having surgery or possible adverse interaction with regular prescribed medications.

Always, always, let your doctor know what herbal supplements you are taking. Remember that these supplements give no guarantee that they are always safe.

Manipulation and touch

These methods use human touch to move or manipulate a specific part of your body. They include:

  • Chiropractic and spinal manipulation
  • Massage
  • Other types of manipulation and touch therapies, such as osteopathy, craniosacral therapy and accupressure

Energy therapies

Many believe that there is an invisible energy force that flows through the body. You’ve heard the words: I have no energy to do this, or I am energized today.

A blockage or imbalance in this energy flow can cause illness. This energy Is called CHI, PRANA or LIFE FORCE, depends on what tradition you believe in. Energy therapy works on balancing or unblocking the flow of energy to bring about healing. In acupuncture, the insertion of needles into points along the energy pathways in the body restores natural energy.

Other energy therapies include:

  • Therapeutic touch
  • Reiki
  • Magnet therapy
  • Polarity therapy
  • Light therapy

Do doctors believe in alternative and complementary medicine?

While they may not be opposed, they are not comfortable with alternative medicine. However, as more people seek out CAM ( Complementary, Alternative Medicine), doctors are opening up to some of the therapies offered by CAM. Patients have to be more open and willing to discuss this issue with their doctors. It is a way to encourage them to learn more about CAM.

SKEPTICISM

As with any profession, there are always those who muddy the waters. Some practitioners of CAM, make exaggerated claims about treating disease and even go as far as recommending to forgo conventional treatment as prescribe by the family doctor.

Realistically, some forms of may be hurtful. There is a lack of solid research of the products and practices of CAM. Controlled research and studies are expensive .

Conventional medicine rely on methods and products backed by sound and solid research. These studies, including trials receive funding directly or indirectly by government funds. The dangers and benefits of CAM treatments remain unproved.

Don’t forgo conventional treatment

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Basal Body Temperature Themometer

If you are interested in learning more about natural family planning, you may have heard about basal body temperature. Therefore, if you plan to use this method, you need to take your temperature immediately before you jump out of bed in the morning.

Keeping track of your basal body temperature is a fairly easy and inexpensive way of predicting when you will ovulate. You can use your best prediction if you are trying to get pregnant or if you are trying to avoid pregnancy. The first step is to purchase a special basal body temperature thermometer. This thermometer measures to a tenth of a degree, so it is more accurate than a standard thermometer. Your body temperature changes with your hormone fluctuations after you ovulate. The changes are very slight and need to be monitored closely, every day for several months.

Basal body temperature is the lowest temperature attained by the body during rest usually during sleep. Basal body temperature refers to your body’s temperature when it is at a resting state. It is generally measured immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been commenced, although the temperature measured at that time is somewhat higher than the true basal body temperature. In women, ovulation causes an increase of one-half to one degree Fahrenheit (one-quarter to one-half degree Celsius) in basal body temperature (BBT); monitoring of BBTs is one way of estimating the day of ovulation. The tendency of a woman to have lower temperatures before ovulation, and higher temperatures after the fact, is known as a biphasic pattern. Charting of this pattern may be used as a component of fertility awareness.
Charting of basal body temperatures is used in some methods of fertility awareness, and may be used to determine the onset of post-ovulatory infertility. However, BBTs only show when ovulation has occurred; they do not predict ovulation. Normal sperm life is up to five days, making prediction of ovulation several days in advance necessary for avoiding pregnancy. BBT-only methods often use a rule similar to that of calendar-based methods to determine the beginning of the pre-ovulatory fertile phase.
Glass fever thermometers typically have markings every 0.2ºF (0.1ºC). Basal thermometers require accuracy of at least 0.1ºF , special glass basal thermometers are sold separately from glass fever thermometers. All digital thermometers generally read to at least 0.1ºF. They are suitable for monitoring basal temperatures. Some digital thermometers are marketed as “basal thermometers” and have extra features such as a larger display, expanded memory functions, or beeping to confirm the thermometer is placed properly. Some fertility monitors determine the fertile and infertile portions of the menstrual cycle by interpreting basal body temperature records.

ne of the natural fertility methods that could assist you to get pregnant is to use a basal body temperature thermometer, known as BBT, (different from that used for taking a fever temperature) It is important that the temperature be taken on wakening up in the morning prior to moving from the bed. You should then record this preferably on a fertility calendar as it can then be easily observed. During the first half of a woman’s menstrual cycle the temperature is in a constant range. When the temperature rises about half a degree Fahrenheit, caused by progesterone being released, this indicates that ovulation has occurred. We can hope that the next months cycle will be the same or very similar. Allowing the prediction of ovulation and highlights the fertile period and can assist if trying to get pregnant quickly.

When you purchase a basal thermometer the manufactor will often enclose instructions. Most supply a menstrual calendar too. This allows a woman to start without delay the very next morning to record her temperature and changes to her cervical mucus on the chart. You will normally need to do this over several months when you are trying to get pregnant, so it would be helpful to run of a copy or two of these charts in advance.

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