WHAT TO DO WHEN CHRONIC PAIN DOES NOT GO AWAY?

WOULD BE ENERGY MEDICINE AN OPTION?

WHAT IT IS ENERGY MEDICINE?

Energy medicine is possibly the most controversial field in modern medicine. But doctors will hurt their patients more than help them if they ridicule their interests in healing energy without fully understanding the possible benefits (and lack of risks). This healing energy may be most important before and after surgery, or when experiencing Chronic pain that doesn't go away with any traditional therapy neither with drug medication.

Energy medicine is a holistic approach to health and wellness that focuses on the role of energy in the body. Despite being a controversial topic in western medicine, energy medicine has been used for centuries in various cultures around the world to explain the connection between the mind and body. Energy medicine works by manipulating the body's energy fields to achieve a positive effect on physical and mental health. Some examples of energy medicine practices include acupuncture, pranayama, qigong, reiki, and Reconnective Healing.

One of the key principles of energy medicine is the idea of invisible energy fields that flow through the body, such as qi, prana, pneuma, and animal magnetism. These are in contrast to ATP as the energy source of western medicine. These energy fields are thought to play a crucial role in our overall health and wellness. Some energy medicine practices, such as Acupuncture and Reiki, aim to balance these energy fields and promote the flow of energy throughout the body.

Another important aspect of energy medicine is the concept of chakras and Dan tian (Tan Tien), which are believed to represent the locations of energy in the body. Practitioners of energy medicine may use techniques such as visualization and meditation to stimulate and balance these energy centers.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence to support the existence of these invisible energy fields, the effectiveness of energy medicine has been demonstrated in various studies and anecdotal evidence. For example, acupuncture has been shown to provide relief from conditions such as chronic pain, depression, and nausea.

However, many in the western medical community remain skeptical of energy medicine and view it as a pseudoscience. The western biomedical model is limited in its understanding of the complex relationship between the mind and body, and tends to ignore the role of consciousness in health and wellness.

Despite the lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms of energy medicine, many people continue to use it and experience positive results. Just like anesthesia and quantum mechanics, there are many things in science that we utilize without fully understanding the underlying process.

Spiritual Approach to Health.

Health care systems in the United States have begun implementing a new medical care model that is more aligned with a biopsychosocial–spiritual approach to health. The original biopsychosocial model was posed in 1977 after practitioners noted “the need for a new medical model.” It proposed that a combination of biological, psychological (entailing thoughts, emotions, and behaviors), and social (economical, environmental, and cultural) factors play a significant role in disease. That model was in stark contrast to the traditional biomedical model of medicine, which suggested that every disease process could be explained in terms of an underlying biological deviation.

The renewed biopsychosocial–spiritual approach emphasizes the patient’s responsibility for self-management and should include patient education, wellness principles, and sound interventions. In our opinion, such a comprehensive approach must be used in chronic pain management, and health professionals should serve their patients’ needs as a “whole,” including their mind, body, and spirit.

Chronic pain can be considered a disruption in biological relationships that in turn affects all the other relational aspects of a person, including the psychological, social, and spiritual. Spirituality concerns a person’s relationship with transcendence, or “whole”-ness. Scholars suggest that many patients would like health professionals to attend to their spiritual needs, but health care providers must be cautious and avoid preaching.

The topic of “spiritual healing” or “spiritual acts” is riddled with controversy due to its religious implications. Certain religious groups may believe that these practices are condemned in the Holy Bible, New International Version. For example, Deuteronomy 18 (v. 10-11) states, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” Others shy away from these practices because they equate spirituality with religion.

Spiritual healing is largely non-denominational, and traditional religious faith is not a prerequisite for therapy.

What Does Spirituality Mean?

As noted, pain management should treat patients as a whole—their mind, body, and spirit. But how do you define spirit? In athletics, spirit may mean excitement or passion. In sacred texts it denotes the breath or life. In modern times, it connotes meaning (a sense of beliefs or values) or purpose (a sense of direction or aim). Thus, spirituality is the “aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”

Spirituality is a framework, or an umbrella term, used to define a set of experiences (empiricist, humanist, atheistic, agnostic, theistic, religious, etc.) that are very personal to each individual. A chronic illness, however, can cause patients to question their purpose in life. The literature suggests that it is important to discuss spirituality because such efforts increase overall satisfaction with health care, improve quality of life, and increase clinical effectiveness in pain management.

How Are Spirituality and Pain Related?

Spirituality matters to many people who experience pain. In addition, patients may struggle to make sense of their pain experience. Those who struggle with their spirituality are at risk for inadequate pain management. The relationship between spirituality and healing can be traced back into antiquity. Historically, the priest and the physician were the same person in some societies.

The advent of scientific medicine in the mid-19th century separated the body from the mind and spirit nearly completely. A century later, the direct interrelationship between the body and mind became firmly established. Over the past several decades, there has been a broad revival of interest in spiritual healing and health. Spirituality may have analgesic properties, inoculate against depression and suicide, add psychosocial support, decrease risky behaviors, provide a means for community integration, and give meaning, or “existential coherence.”

Incorporating Spiritual Healing in your day to day.

There are several ways patients who suffer from chronic pain can integrate spiritual healing in their lives, including: