Open Access News Health & Social Care News How to relieve pain without pills July 23, 2024 Image: ©AsiaVision | iStock Around 28 million people are living in the UK with chronic pain . What can we do to relieve pain without pills? Painkillers may offer some relief in the acute situation, but as time passes, the body becomes tolerant to their effects . In addition, side effects may develop, and depression and anxiety are common as pain and disability get worse.
More and more, both doctors and their patients are looking for drug-free methods of pain relief. Below is a list of drug-free options for pain relief. Anyone with chronic pain can consider using these as an alternative or in addition to conventional analgesic medication.
Heat and cold treatment We know that applying heat or cold to a painful area can relieve muscular pain. In a 2022 meta-analysis which analysed 59 studies, applying a hot pack was found to be the most effective method of pain relief out of 10 treatment options. The second most effective treatment modality was contrast therapy in which hot and cold were applied alternately to the painful site.
Cold temperatures were no lower than 10°C and the hot therapy was 35–40°C. A heated pad is thought to work because it increases blood flow and the oxygen supply to the damaged area, and also accelerates the removal of inflammatory mediators. Heat also quietens overactive peripheral nerves.
When you are in pain, these are in an excitable state which can cause mu.