How to Beat Pain by Christine Craggs-Hinton

Pain is all too common, affecting millions, and severely disrupting both personal comfort and the whole economic fabric of our society. The good news is that there are techniques that can help you beat pain, often in the privacy of your own home and with minimal equipment.

In this book, Christine Craggs-Hinton takes a detailed look at trigger point therapy, a method of pain relief which involves massaging tiny knots of over-tight muscles that can cause pain. The book also explains three main pain-beating strategies:

• good posture (including the Alexander Technique)
• exercise
• good diet

Other techniques covered that may help beat pain include acupuncture, biofeedback, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, hypnotherapy, reflexology, relaxation and meditation. It is possible to beat pain!

Contents 

• Trigger-point therapy
• The Alexander Technique and posture
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Complementary therapies and other techniques

This book is for anyone who suffers from chronic pain — 'chronic' meaning pain or discomfort that has persisted intermittently or continuously for three months or more. Whether you are affected by repeated headaches, migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia (the pain after shingles) or the pain of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, spondylitis, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, sciatica and so on, you should find a way out within these pages. The same applies for people with 'common back pain' — that is, pain where there is no specific diagnosis, caused by persistent muscle tension or strain.

The press often tells us that back pain alone is responsible for an estimated 60 million lost working days each year, costing the economy an annual £3 billion. What is never announced is the fact that chronic pain — in which back pain figures highly — is actually weakening the fabric of Western society, for the complications that come with it — sleep disturbance, anxiety, fear, moodiness, loss of confidence, depression and social isolation — can lead to unemployment, family disharmony, divorce and even bankruptcy.

The effect of my condition on my own family will always stay with me. It's almost 14 years since I became ill with fibromyalgia, and in the early years my muscles were in such distress that the weight of my arms on my shoulder muscles, and of my head on my neck and upper back muscles, caused intense pain. Normal actions like bending and reaching were out of the question and my husband had no choice but to take over the running of the house. He also had to wash me, brush my hair and feed me. I had no option but to spend the majority of my time lying down, convinced I had fallen victim to some terrible fatal disease. Yes, I know all about anxiety, fear, loss of confidence, depression and so on. It didn't help that I was drugged up to the eyeballs on prescribed medications, needing stronger and stronger dosages to achieve the same result.

Because I was no longer earning and my husband now my full- time carer, the children were suddenly without treats and family outings. I can hardly bear to think of them seeing their mother lying palely in bed every day ... As a result, they found it difficult to concentrate and their schoolwork suffered. One of my sons was about to start at a new school when I was at my worst. A clever boy, he just couldn't cope with my condition combined with the stress of new teachers, and a new routine, and constantly played truant, failing badly at his GCSEs — and all because of me. Or should I say, because of my pain. Thankfully, these days, I'm much more able to be there for my family after following the techniques outlined in this book, and for their part, my children learned resilience and understanding from that tough time, and are doing extremely well in their chosen professions.

I remember rallying emotionally after finally being given a diagnosis — even though I was to learn that, as far as conventional medicine was concerned, my condition was incurable. However, giving up hope of a magic 'cure' is sometimes no bad thing as it makes you explore other options and take more responsibility for your well-being. There is evidence to suggest that when chronic pain is diagnosed, people often find acceptance and resolution, and come to terms with what is happening in their lives. Many stop searching for that elusive cure, looking instead for therapeutic treatments that work best for them. In my case, it was the gentle exercise regime taught me by a rehabilitation physiotherapist that first got me out of bed. It slowly gave my muscles a degree of flexibility, began to loosen up my joints and gradually made it possible for me to sit up for an hour and a half at a time. I perform a daily exercise routine to this day. I am only too aware of the benefit it brings.

It is important that anyone with a chronic pain problem is offered referral to a pain-management programme — they exist in most areas. Such programmes are undoubtedly the best recent Health Service initiative regarding chronic pain, and many people return afterwards to far happier, more productive lives. Pain-management programmes are staffed by physiotherapists, psychologists, rheumatologists and GPs and are usually located in hospitals or doctors' surgeries. The two-week programme teaches stretching exercises, relaxation techniques and the most effective usage of medications. There is also a strong emphasis on 'cognitive behavioural therapy', where the individual is given guidance on tackling social situations, on working toward achievable goals, on better communicating their anxieties to the people around them and, all in all, on getting much more from their lives. My own referral to such a programme was one of the turning points for me.

Another turning point was starting to eat more healthily. I learnt from nutritionist friends that food is the finest medicine we can put into our bodies; and perhaps the best means of influencing overall health. They informed me about the need for nutritional supplements in dealing with chronic pain, explaining that where there is illness, t he body is automatically deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. So. in order to fulfills my daily nutritional requirements, I began taking the recommended supplements as an adjunct to improving my diet. My energy levels rose quite quickly — then, as the months passed, I was delighted to be experiencing less pain.

When another friend introduced me to the concept of correct posture through the Alexander Technique, I was able to identify the massive levels of tension in my body — mainly because I was holding my self in such a poor way. I learnt to become aware of myself as a whole — my mind, body and spirit, for the Alexander Technique links the way in which our thought processes, emotions and feelings affect our bodies. It was after learning the most pain-free way to work at a computer that I began writing my first book, Living with Fibromyalgia.

From then on, I tried lots of different therapies and techniques, to varying effect. I was writing about them, too, giving advice to others coping with chronic pain in local and national newsletters. However, it was becoming increasingly clear that there are fundamental tools that enable people to start to climb out of their pit of pain and despair. To recap, these tools are:

• good nutrition for improvements on the inside
• the Alexander Technique for improved posture
• exercise for improved flexibility and strength.

It is only recently that I have come across a fourth tool. I became aware of the great benefits of trigger-point therapy — and soon realized that this was the missing link. I was given trigger-point injections in the early days of my illness, but as a trigger point is like a tiny rubber ball and difficult to hit with a needle, the injections were not particularly successful.

With my help, however, you will be able to locate your own trigger points, for they exist in anyone with chronic pain. By using a special kind of self-applied massage that is described clearly in the first chapter, significant relief can come in just minutes. Less severe problems can be rectified in days. Long-standing chronic pain can be resolved in one to six months.

Although trigger-point therapy in itself is capable of dispelling a chronic pain situation, the problem is likely to recur if my other therapies are not taken on board. This book looks at several therapies which can boost quality of life, but in my opinion, exercise, good posture, optimum nutrition and trigger-point therapy make up an important four-pronged attack on pain. It is certainly working for me.

Note: The advice in this book is best followed with your doctor's approval. The author is not able to dispense medical advice independently, nor can she prescribe remedies or assume any responsibility for those who treat themselves without the consent of their doctor. As some nutritional supplements may interact with certain medications, and as they may adversely affect particular medical conditions, please consult your doctor before embarking upon a course.

About the author
Christine Craggs-Hinton, mother of three, followed a career in the Civil Service until, in 1991, she developed fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Christine took up writing for therapeutic reasons and has, in the past few years, produced Living with Fibromyalgia, The Fibromyalgia Healing Diet, The Chronic Fatigue Healing Diet, Coping with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Coping with Gout (all published by Sheldon Press). She also writes for the Fibromyalgia Association UK and the related FaMily magazine. In recent years she has become interested in fiction writing, too.