Is Chronic Pain Part of Your Life?

By John W. Johnson

Almost one in every five Americans suffers from chronic pain, according to a poll from ABC News and Stanford Medical Center. This means that as many as 40 million people are living life in a near constant state of discomfort - that’s twice as many people as those with diabetes!

There are only 1,700 doctors who are certified as pain specialists by the American Board of Pain Medicine. This means that there is only one doctor for every 23,500 people who need care. It’s no wonder that only 30% of those polled reported receiving a “great deal” of relief from their symptoms.

This epidemic results in an estimated $100 billion loss in worker productivity each year. More importantly, chronic pain can lead to depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and, in extreme cases, thoughts of suicide.

According to the survey, the top sources of pain were:

Back - 25%
Knee - 12%
Headache/Migraine - 9%
Shoulder - 7%
Legs - 7%

Fortunately, you don’t have to live with chronic pain. There are many effective tools and supplements that can help to turn around the “downward spiral” of chronic pain and fatigue. Massage, chi machines, nutrition and supplements are just a few of the ways you can improve your well-being. Trigger Point Therapy is also a highly effective treatment for breaking up these spots, thus ending the cycle of pain. You can learn to locate these points and release them yourself. Books, such as “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook”, will teach you how to use short, repetitive massage strokes to release points of tension and restore proper blood flow. Remember - it’s never too late to begin feeling healthy!

John is a nationally certified massage therapist, health researcher, and psychotherapist. He worked on the US Olympic sports massage team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and has most recently volunteered his time and expertise by giving massages to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Red Cross personnel who have assisted them. For more information about this subject and his products go to AllAboutChi.com.

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