Years ago, I used to suffer from painful attacks on my shoulders and lower back. It was the same for my colleagues, many who are living with chronic pain. When we saw the panel doctors, we would be given painkillers and muscle relaxants. I remember a few telling me that the medications did not work for them. For me, I would pay out of pocket to visit chiropractor and the occasional bekam treatment (blood acucupping) which at least provide relief ranging from a few weeks to a few months.
If you or your loved ones are suffering from chronic pain, I strongly encourage you to explore the words of advice from three Western medical doctors below because I know locally there is no awareness about their work.
All the doctors below started their career conventional medicine but later discovered that the conventional treatments were ineffective on many cases (example patient not responsive to medication, after back surgery the pain reappeared somewhere else, medical tests show nothing structurally wrong with the patient but he/she was in a lot of pain, etc).
Please note that NONE of them say that pain is ‘all in our head’. The pain is REAL. They discovered that our brain creates new neurological pathways when dealing with events of our lives, from learning to ride a bicycle to dealing with trauma/abuse/feelings of abandonment.
If pain is purely a physical cause, then conventional treatment (medication, physical therapy or surgery) would fix it. But if it is a neurological cause, then ‘unlearning’ it would help to overcome it.
1. DR JOHN SARNO (search ‘Dr Sarno TMS’ in YouTube).
Dr John Sarno was a trained doctor and professor of Rehabilitation Medicine in NYU. He dedicated 40 years of his life helping patients heal chronic pain and other symptoms.
Below is a video that ABC News did in their 20/20 segment with the late Dr John Sarno.
Note: After hearing his talks, something just clicked in my brain. Next day, the joint stiffness and pain that I used to have was gone. The words of this wonderful doctor took away my pain. I hope for anyone suffering out there, his work and legacy would help you too.
2. DR HOWARD SCHUBINER
He has very good lectures in YouTube where he explain the relationship between learned neurological pathways and chronic pain. He took the trouble to do a simple history check on his patients and discovered that if the patient had no history of childhood trauma, then back surgery will help in 95% of the time. But for those with severe history of trauma, the success rate of surgery is only 14%.
3. DR DAVID HANSCOM
He is an orthopedic spine surgeon who performed back operations on patients. One day, through years of suppressed emotion and perfectionism, he had a panic attack while driving down a freeway and from there, started developing a lot of chronic and painful symptoms. He realized there is more to pain and looked inward and was able to overcome his conditions.
If you or your loved ones are living with chronic pain and have tried everything, why not explore the words of the doctors above. All the methods above does not cost money, except if you wish to try to buy their books.