Healthcare Technology Featured Article

August 17, 2020

Noninvasive Technologies for Treating Pain




There is an increasing belief today that over the counter medication and pharmaceutical prescription medication is proving to be more harmful over the long term – while it may relieve symptoms in the meantime, dependence on the drugs causes its own negative side effects. For one, tolerance for the medicines may increase, which will only require higher doses for the patient to effectively manage pain in the future. Another downside to this is the fact that these medicines sometimes do not treat the root of the problem – and therefore may just be band-aid solutions to sufferers of chronic pain.

It is worthwhile to note that there have been emerging philosophies about lifestyle changes and how revamps to one’s diet, sleep patterns, and other activities can eliminate chronic pain. Those seeking immediate relief, however, can go for certain noninvasive technologies that don’t rely on drugs in order to get a more instant respite from their pain.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback hopes to make supposedly involuntary actions such as heart rate, muscle tension, anxiety, pain perception, and blood flow – voluntary. Electrical sensors are placed in different parts of the body in order to monitor the body’s reaction to certain stimuli. These are then interpreted by your therapist, who will then instruct you on how to condition your responses in a more managed and less anxious way. This can help you control your reactions to stress, tension, and even pain.

Meditation, breathing, visualization, and other relaxation techniques will be taught to you in order to reprogram your body’s traditional responses to pain, which can possibly treat the pain at the root.

What is the difference between Biofeedback and Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback, compared to biofeedback, doesn’t control your involuntary bodily functions and therefore improves your physiology. Instead, it monitors brain activity, and is done on a more subconscious level, helping improve mental illness and other psychological abnormalities instead of alleviating pain.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture deals mainly with the insertion of needles in certain acupuncture points in the body, with the belief that this will help restore balance and realign energies that will relieve pain. The points where these needles are inserted also trigger the release of natural painkillers, apart from stimulating blood flow in needed areas.

Interventional Therapy

Through repeated and guided action, certain interventional therapies are still helpful in the relief of pain, albeit gradually. Still, there is a comprehensive list of pain treatments available in centers such as Seattle Pain Relief, that can help treat and manage pain in noninvasive, effective, and lasting ways.

These therapies are also usually tailor-fit to your specific needs, and these specialists take into account the individual circumstances that surround you and the cause of your pain – whether it’s from an accident, or genetic, or from any other source. A program can be developed for you and can prove to be highly effective if you stick to the recommendations.

Conclusion

In this day and age, a lot of options are already available for treating pain. Give these new technologies a try and choose whichever is best for your needs. They have the power to completely eradicate your pain without having to take another manufactured drug again.



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