Integrative Health Blog

In 2018 the CDC released a report estimating that 50 million Americans have chronic pain, and that 40% of those have “high-impact chronic pain,” defined as pain that is severe enough to frequently limit life or work activities.  Add to that the emotional version of pain – mood and sleep disorders – which often complicates the physical version of pain, and now we are talking about 50% of Americans. 

Why are so many people in mind and body pain, living lives that can't seem to find long-term, sustainable solutions?

Inflammation is certainly one of the factors, caused by Lyme Disease and chronic infections, gastrointestinal or microbiome disorders and food allergies. At the very least, integrative & functional medicine provides some relief in regards to inflammation, and a whole host of nutrients, from essential fatty acids to various anti-inflammatory herbals can get results for a lot of people.

The Real Source of Pain

However, what I would like to address here is a source of pain which is usually not addressed, the brain, which aligns with the title;  the reign of pain is mainly in the brain (borrowing the quip from one of the songs in the play My Fair Lady). 

Human beings tend to overcomplicate a lot of things. 

Many of us are guilty of thinking that anything worth achieving requires a lot of time and effort.   For example, if we want to lose weight, we must go on a complicated diet program designed by some famous doctor or health guru on the best sellers list.  Or, if we want to gain muscle, we have to work out every day for hours.  On the other hand, we think if it's easy it’s probably too good to be true or it won’t help, yet many of us want "easy" in this complicated, busy world.  The bottom line is, whether easy or hard, the basics of a healthy life need to be adhered to.  What are the basics?

• Healthy eating habits: Eat fruits, vegetables, proteins, minimize sugars

• Rest/Sleep: Get 8 hours of sleep per night, take naps and vacations

• Low stress levels: Minimize stress by setting boundaries at work, meditate and be grateful

• Hydration: Drink enough water (64 oz./day minimum) to sustain life in your body's tissue

• Personal: Do things that make you feel fulfilled, incorporate things that are your passion and inspire you

• Work: Do something that provides for the necessities in life, but also makes you feel like you are helping others or contributing to a greater good

But, there is one more important thing you must do for health and that is-

As a physical medicine doctor of 15 years I have seen a lot of patients that have presented with  various levels of pain and musculoskeletal problems.  Some as simple as low back pain as the result of shoveling snow, to as complicated as having Lyme disease/low thyroid/ chronic inflammation/ shoulder pain all layered on each other, never knowing what is the real cause of their physical pain. 

Somehow, in any of these cases, there needs to be a point where the basics of physical health are incorporated into daily living. Along with proper treatment, this will set the foundation for healing and get a patient back to a better state of health from when they first came in.

In sports, when a team is doing poorly many times the coach will take the team back to  drills they learned as a kid to reinforce the basics of the sport.  This allows the team to return to "the basics" of being successful and winning games.  The same thing has to happen when restoring the physical body to the way it is supposed to move and feel. 

What are basics for health?