Stress, depression and anxiety are intimately linked with chronic pain. Fatigue and feelings of withdrawal are also linked.  Imagine how many functions of the body are stress-related…  When we’re stressed our digestive functions shut down, are bowel functions can be hindered (either constipation or diarrhoea), our thyroid function or immune function can be lowered, in order to allow the body’s adrenalin and cortisol levels to be higher than normal, for a prolonged period.  The sad thing is, we feel out of control while all of this is going on in our lives.

How to get rid of stress:  3 quick tips…

• Take a walk every day.  Walking increases serotonin and dopamine (our happy, feel-good hormones) and therefore reduces our cortisol and adrenalin levels (our stress and pain hormones).  It increases circulation, increases the quality of our muscle mass (and therefore improves thyroid function as there’s a direct relationship) and supports the immune system by getting vitamin D from the sun!
• Join a social group.  We all need a way to get out of our daily grind.  Join a local speaking club, an amateur musical or drama society, or a sporting club.  There’s nothing like open friendships on a different level to family (we all have those patterns within our family that make us feel like an 8 year old in trouble)…  It also increases our feel-good hormones and relieves depression and anxiety, as well as chronic pain.
• Learn some self-help techniques using touch for health kinesiology or reiki (or something similar).  I’ll be putting some small videos together to teach some basic techniques in the near future!  One simple technique is ESR emotional stress release:  gently holding your hands on your forehead (as shown below) and holding there until you feel a pulse on both sides of the forehead.  At this point there is blood supply in both the left and right sides of the brain (yep, the logic and gestalt (creative) sides of the brain).  Think about the problems going on in your life WHILE holding these points and you will soon come up with a creative, logical solution.  Cool huh???  More kinesiology tools - watch this space!    Madonna Guy ND New Leaf Natural Therapies

If you are constantly getting neck and shoulder pain, or any type of muscle pain, then you ARE dehydrated.  Did you know that by the time muscles become tight, they are full of toxins and acids and can’t release them, often due to dehydration.  Neck and shoulder pain also makes us have difficulty thinking…and water is crucial for a properly functioning brain!  Aim for at least 2 litres of filtered water daily (with a good quality magnesium supplements) and start getting rid of your neck and shoulder pain (or any chronic muscle pain for that matter).  We find that 95% of the clients who we test in our Natural Therapies Clinic are dehydrated!  This is NOT a small number…  Drink more if you’re taking any medication as these often deplete our body’s water supply as well.  For example, if you’re on blood pressure tablets you’ll need 3 litres of water daily due to the diuretic action!

Therefore:  drink plenty (of filtered water) and have a great day!

Madonna Guy ND

New Leaf Natural Therapies www.nlnt.com.au

Australia is needing Natural Pain Remedies more than ever before.

According to reports, back and shoulder pain is causing misery to 8 out of 10 Australians. They experience it from the time they wake up; sometimes they could not sleep at all because of the pain. Their work would suffer, as well as time for hobbies and sport activities.

Australia is not spared from the worldwide chronic pain problem. Worldwide, it is pegged at around 80% of the Earth’s population. Statistics have shown that one in every five person in Australia suffer from chronic pain once in their lifetime. 10 percent of those would suffer from debilitating pains. Everyone knows that people suffering from chronic pain would have sleepless nights and might miss work. Simple things such as lying down and sitting for a long period of time could be painful for them.

Musculoskeletal and connective tissue problems account for 45% of the long term pain in the country. 15% of Australia’s population is reported as suffering from recurrent issues with back and shoulder pain, as well as in the neck and spine area. Of this percentage, 39% is said to have suffered from work related conditions. In 2005, 31% of those suffering from pain resulted because of injury.

43% of the correspondents have reported that their back and shoulder pain comes weekly and 41% would suffer debilitating pains. The top ten reasons for back and shoulder pains in Australia are:

• stress/tension;
• injury;
• working in front of the computer;
• bad sleeping position;
• manual labor;
• bad posture;
• spinal problems;
• aging;
• overweight; and
• history of repetitive movements.

Back and shoulder pain can cause people to be irritable, frustrated, and easily distracted. At least 50% of those questioned said that it causes them to be depressed as well.

As for pain caused by depression, Australian government statistics tell us that everyone suffers from it once in their lifetime. This is similar to the statistics gathered in the United States and U.K. After heart disease, depression is the number killer in the world. We all know about the relationship of depression with pain. The two are relatively close with each other.

Treatment for pain and depression is available in Australia. There are many Natural Pain Treatment types that can cater to a client’s condition. There are various treatments readily available for Australians. They could try the natural methods such as massage, frequency specific microcurrent therapy, fantastic natural remedies, and other detoxification processes. Or they have the choice to try medical and scientific way of pain relief such as shock wave therapy, electric, and drugs. There are also self-help remedies such as exercise, meditation and deep breathing. There are ways to control your mind in order to help you relieve your pain.

Pain ranks high in the prevalence ranking in Australia, the first being visual disorders. Because of that, the total cost of chronic pain across the nation is pegged at around 34 billion dollars and still raising.  50% of the cost is being paid by the patients while 25% is through Federal and State governments. The amount is alarmingly high and funding should be made to address the needs of clients in pain.

Madonna Guy ND

New Leaf Natural Therapies