Seven Steps to Painfree Living

Seven Secrets to Painfree Living   -by Chris Cotter, P.T.

We are in a new era of pain relief.  The following steps to pain relief are based on research and my own experience after 26 years in practice.  Individuals who follow these steps have a good chance of living pain free or at least being better able to manage their conditions.

Step 1:  Gentle, Effective Therapy

The first key word is gentle.  You should not be afraid to come to therapy because it is not necessary to hurt you in order to help you get better.  As our experience in treating pain grows, we find that gentle is best.  The slogan “No pain, no gain” is out of date, at least in the way we practice therapy.  Our goal is always to get you out of pain as quickly as possible.  That makes it easier to accomplish the remaining goals of your rehabilitation.  We never expect a patient to push through pain.  Our slogan might be:   

“No pain, big gain!”

The second key word is effective. Two of the newer, more effective treatments that we use at Urbana Physical Therapy are Primal Reflex Release Technique and Total Motion Release

Primal Reflex Release Technique (PRRT). 

PRRT was developed by John Iams, a physical therapist from California.  PRRT works with the reflexes in the body to calm you down, bring you into a more relaxed state, and thereby eliminate your pain.  Areas of your body that were once tender and painful become painfree and no longer tender to the touch.  PRRT is unusual in that we may work with a part of your body that does not hurt.  For example, we may position your arm in such a way that it will reduce pain in your foot.  That may sound strange, but we get amazing results.  Many patients become painfree at the first or second visit.  We often hear, “That’s the first time in years that I have not hurt.”

We estimate that up to 80% or our patients respond positively to PRRT to some degree.  It has helped people with back pain, neck pain, arthritis, Fibromyalgia, chronic pain and people recovering from surgery.  We have even it seen it help a couple of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Total Motion Release (TMR)

Total Motion Release is an exercise protocol developed by Tom Dalonzo-Baker, a physical therapist from North Carolina.  TMR is the exact opposite of everything we learned in PT school.  But it is extremely effective if you are willing to work a little.  With TMR you don’t have to move the painful body part.  You exercise the good side in specific patterns to help the bad side.  For example, we might find that exercising your leg helps reduce your shoulder pain or your low back pain.  Trunk rotation often reduces pain and swelling at the knee.  I realize that this may seem farfetched, but we have seen almost miraculous results in people who have hurt for many years.

Their website: www.totalmotionrelease.com

Step 2:  A Simple, Effective Home Program

By your second visit, your therapist should have a good idea of what reduces your pain.  Your therapist will then instruct you how to perform these easy techniques.  This could take as little as 2-3 minutes a day.

Step 3:  Regular Exercise

As your pain subsides, you should begin a regular exercise program at least 2-3 times a week.  It’s no secret that people who exercise regularly, especially aerobically, have less pain and the pain is less likely to return.

Having this knowledge, some health care practitioners have forced patients to exercise expecting that the exercise alone would eliminate the pain.  And sometimes it did.  But for many people exercise did not work.  It just made them worse because the problems that caused the pain were never corrected.  (See step 1). 

Remember, exercise should not increase your pain!!!

Your therapist will tell you when to begin a program and even give you the proper exercises for your condition.

Step 4:  Consider Dietary Changes

Reduce or eliminate Caffeine and Nicotine.  Caffeine and Nicotine are stimulants.  They kick the nervous system into an “up-regulated” state, making you feel more stressed and, therefore, more likely to have pain.  Many, if not most, of the people we have seen with chronic pain have been smokers and heavy users of caffeine.

Eliminate Aspartame from your diet.  Aspartame is the ingredient in most diet drinks.  Dr. Roberts has coined the term “Aspartame Reactor”.  Some people have a severe, almost allergic reaction to aspartame.  Others have a less severe reaction so they may not notice it.  We have had at least one patient whose Fibromyalgia pain went away for good when she stopped consuming diet drinks.

Eliminate Nightshades.  Many people with arthritis and Fibromyalgia have improved by eliminating nightshades from their diets.  Nightshades are foods like potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers.  You might want to visit the website: www.noarthritis.com

Step 5:  Practice Stresss Management

Stress is part of life.  It’s how we respond to stress that makes the difference.  Implementing these seven steps will help to reduce your stress.  There are hundreds of other stress reduction techniques available.

Some people will require professional help in dealing with their stress.  And some just need a little different outlook on life.  Many of us worry about things that we have no control over.  We offer a small booklet called:

Acceptance: The way to serenity and peace of mind.

This booklet has helped many people achieve a better outlook on life.  If you would like a free copy, just call us and we will mail you one immediately.  If you are in the area, just stop in to get your free copy.  Our phone number is 937-653-7333.

Step 6:  Maintain a Sense of Humor

In his famous book, Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins tells how he literally laughed his way to health.  Tell at least one joke a day and enjoy life.