Natural pain management strategies tend to come with fewer side effects and possible complications than pharmaceutical medications, procedures, and surgeries. Fortunately, if you prefer a natural approach, there are plenty of all-natural options to explore.
At Elation Physical Therapy, our experts know the value of natural treatment that reduces pain and restores function and mobility. At our offices in Houston, Pearland, Cypress, and Katy, Texas, the team helps you set attainable goals to reduce pain and manage any of the following conditions:
Any of these conditions can cause acute (short-term) or chronic (long-lasting) pain that impacts your quality of life and well-being.
Our team recommends a personalized combination of gentle strategies for a natural pain management approach. Here are some of our best options:
For the more than 50 million people in the United States living with chronic pain, physical therapy is a research-backed pain management option proven to be effective with or without other treatments. Physical therapy at Elation Physical Therapy starts with an initial evaluation, during which the team assesses your needs and identifies your goals. Then, the team can create a personalized physical therapy program to target your pain and address any other goals for increased strength, mobility, balance, or range of motion.
Elation Physical Therapy offers in-office and virtual physical therapy sessions for your convenience and treatment compliance. Elation physical therapy also offers aquatic therapy, a specialized form of physical therapy exercise that you practice in the water. Aquatic therapy uses therapeutic elements of water like buoyancy to reduce stress on painful joints.
When you think of physical therapy, you likely think of exercises. Exercise is the primary tool in physical therapy; however, your physical therapist might decide to accompany it with other natural physical therapy modalities available at Elation Physical Therapy, which we’ll describe in this blog.
You can think of manual therapy as similar to massage therapy but more clinical. Like exercises, it can be a highly beneficial form of physical therapy. A skilled physical therapist uses their hands to manipulate your joints and tissues to encourage healing during manual therapy.
Manual therapy reduces tension in your tissues and can improve your range of motion.
Dry needling is a procedure that uses needles to stimulate your muscles at specific trigger points. Similar to trigger point injections, dry needling doesn’t apply medications: It uses stimulation from the needles alone to induce healing and decrease tightness associated with trigger points.
Our expert physical therapists can offer suggestions for natural pain management strategies you can use at home. This might include physical therapy exercises and stretches to perform at home between visits to maintain the progress you make during formal physical therapy sessions.
Heat and cold therapies are also highly effective for pain relief, and they can be easily implemented at home. Alternate homemade heat packs and ice packs wrapped in a towel to give your painful tissues the benefits of both sides of the temperature spectrum. Heat improves blood flow to a targeted area to reduce muscle pain and stiffness, while cold temperatures reduce inflammation.
You might find that moist heat is more effective for reducing pain. Instead of using a heating pad to warm up painful muscles, try a hot bath or apply a hot towel.
You should limit your time with cold therapy to no more than 20 minutes at a time, but you can safely apply heat to painful muscles and tissues for longer time periods.
At Elation Physical Therapy, our experts can put you on the right track toward natural and effective pain relief without the drawbacks of pharmaceuticals or surgery. Call Elation Physical Therapy or book an appointment online to review your options today.
