The Benefits of a Holistic Approach to Pain Management

Check out this go-to guide that explains our holistic pain management approach after a car accident.

Written by CrashMD staff

It seems like stress and chronic pain are unfortunately a very common ailment for adults these days. Especially if there is an injury involved, possibly from a car accident or a traumatic event, this can lead to acute pain that can become worsened by stress and anxiety, which then turns into chronic pain. Couple that with the patient not wanting to result to taking pain medications or surgical options and they could be on a long and painful road to hopefully eventual recovery. 

The good news is that holistic pain management is becoming a more widely accepted pain management practice that has proven helpful for providing pain relief. Holistic pain management is different from “traditional” pain management because it treats the entire patient, rather than just the pain symptoms they are experiencing. In addition to identifying and addressing the root cause of pain, a holistic approach means that the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of pain will be addressed as well. 

As we know by now, the best and most effective way to treat chronic pain is to take a comprehensive approach that focuses on the injury or pain itself, as well as the symptoms, all while utilizing the most comfortable and minimally-invasive treatment options first. This approach has helped holistic pain gain momentum in recent years and help patients to enjoy long-term pain relief that improves overall well-being and avoid invasive or surgical options and their connected risks and side effects. 

What is Holistic Pain Management?

Holistic pain management is a comprehensive care program for the treatment of chronic pain. If you have suffered with chronic pain before, or are currently suffering with chronic pain, you know just how debilitating it can be to life and overall well-being. Not only can pain keep you from comfortably enjoying your daily lifestyle, it can also create mental health issues, lead to problems with your relationships, affect your career and your feelings of self worth. These mental health issues, specifically depression, anxiety, insomnia and PTSD, can lead to a heightened perception of pain, which means that there is more pain felt, which in turn leads to more mental health issues. It is a vicious cycle that holistic pain management is acutely capable of addressing. 

Depending on the severity of your injury and pain symptoms (as well as subsequent negative aspects of pain), your pain management specialist will recommend a personalized holistic approach to pain management that could include any, or a few, of the below treatments: 

• Psychotherapy: learning how to cope with pain symptoms, which helps to minimize its negative indirect effects (i.e. stress, insomnia)
• Acupuncture: inserting small needles to stimulate specific parts of the body and its neural network, which helps to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue and boost the body’s natural painkillers
• Chiropractic care: by diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal issues, particularly those related to the spine, a chiropractor is able to realign the spine and reduce pressure on nerves, which reduces pain
• Osteopathic manipulation treatment (OMT): this is a hands-on therapy option that is used to help correct structural imbalances in the body, which helps to improve circulation and relieve pain
• Physical therapy: a trained physical therapist is able to create a customized exercising and stretching routine for your specific pain symptoms that will help to both alleviate pain now, but will also improve your flexibility, strength and mobility that will help to avoid future injuries
• Nutrition: giving your body the best tools you can, which includes vitamins, protein, amino acids, minerals and water, helps it to recover as quickly as possible. After all, the body has great repair and regenerative processes and a healthy diet can accelerate healing. 
• Health Coaching: this affords patients a personalized approach that combines education, goal setting, stress management, lifestyle changes, behavioral changes and support to help patients manage chronic pain and improve their overall well-being
• Yoga: yoga is a low-impact exercise that helps to improve mood, reduce tension and improve physical functioning, all which help to reduce pain. An added benefit is that it helps to reduce stress and reduces mental health issues, so a person truly does feel better after the session. 
• Stress management: learning how to manage stress through mindfulness, meditation and deep breathing exercises can help to reduce pain symptoms and also give patients more control of how they perceive and manage pain in the first place

Holistic pain management is a fantastic way to comfortably enjoy pain relief through non-invasive techniques that work together to provide a comprehensive approach to treating the entire patient. Not only does it help the patient to experience pain relief now, it will also provide them with tools that will help their overall well-being over their lifetime, such as how to manage stress, the benefits of a healthy diet, and the best movements and exercises to promote a strong and flexible body. 

Benefits of Holistic Pain Management

There are a range of benefits for a patient who opts for holistic pain management. The most important benefit is that the pain management specialist will be able to address both the root cause of pain and the pain symptoms by utilizing a comprehensive and custom-tailored approach that provides long-term relief. Patients are able to learn strategies and methods that will help them throughout their entire life, which will also hopefully avoid any future instances of chronic pain. When treating the mind-body connection and focusing on the patient’s overall well-being, the patient will be able to find relief without having to rely on risky treatments like surgery, or treatments that have harmful side effects, like taking pain medications for an extended period of time. By promoting lifestyle changes and truly aligning with the patient’s lifestyle and wellness goals, pain management specialists can help the patient achieve a higher quality of life. Additionally, by taking advantage of holistic pain management techniques, versus just opting for treatments that just target the symptoms, the patient has a greater chance of long-term, pain-free success.  

The greatest benefits for comprehensive care for pain through holistic pain management include: 

• Long-term pain relief: by focusing on both the underlying cause of pain as well as the associated symptoms, a holistic pain management approach works to comprehensively treat the entire patient, which yields more long term and sustainable pain relief. This is because patients learn how to best take care of their body and mind, which can help them cope with pain symptoms as they arise (hopefully not!) and avoid pain symptoms in the future. This is completely different from a treatment plan that uses only pain medications to treat the symptoms, or a one-time surgical intervention that is known to provide temporary relief. 

• Lack of need for medication: by avoiding taking medications to treat pain symptoms, specialists are able to recommend therapies that help to actually treat the condition instead of just the symptoms. Additionally, by not starting on paid medications in the first place, you are removing the opportunity for addiction as well as harmful side effects, which is incredibly helpful in the long run.
• Personalized care: a trained pain management specialist who is adept at providing a personalized holistic pain management approach can uniquely tailor treatment for each individual. This is vastly different from a general approach to pain care, which would just include following a checklist based on what is most often needed, not taking consideration as to the individual needs of the patient. 
• Improved well-being and quality of life: by providing the patients with necessary tools to effectively manage their pain symptoms, which include targeting and managing their physical, emotional and mental health, patients can enjoy a more well rounded approach to pain management, and actually feel good about it. They will know that their specialist has crafted a treatment plan just for them, with the goal to help them meet their lifestyle and overall health and wellness goals. 
• Connecting the mind and body: in our fast-paced world, there is an easy opportunity to disconnect the mind and body, especially when traditional and pharmaceutical-based medicine is concerned. However, holistic pain management aims to connect the mind and body by utilizing meditation, mindfulness techniques and relaxation practices to reduce pain symptoms and stop the vicious pain/stress/pain cycle. 
• Self management: holistic pain management empowers patients with a proven way to take an effective role in managing their own pain, all through self-care and lifestyle improvements. It’s a powerful way to put patients in charge of their healing, simply by giving them the necessary tools. 

Holistic pain management seems too good to be true, right? But it’s not! Studies have proven that it is an effective way to help patients utilize comprehensive care for pain that allows them great results with zero side effects. By integrating these principles into the patient’s daily life, they are able to engage in activities that promote a complete range of healthy well-being, all while reducing and eliminating their pain symptoms in both the short and long term. 

If you are suffering from chronic pain and are interested in learning more about how holistic pain management can benefit you, please schedule an appointment with the CrashMD team today. We are uniquely able to create a comprehensive, custom-tailored plan for you that is effective at treating both the cause of pain and the pain symptoms. By focusing on the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of pain, your pain management specialist can help to provide long-term pain relief that helps to improve both your quality of life as well as your well-being. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you comfortably receive care that you will actually enjoy!