Pain
is beneficial in diagnosing certain medical conditions.
However, it does not reveal what pain is.
To get the full concept of pain, it is important to understand
the electro-physiology of the body and the emotional component that is
associated with it. The body has millions of biologically closed
electrical circuits. These wonderfully tuned and balanced circuits
connect virtually all cells. Every cell is a tiny chemical/electric
generator connected electrically to other cells. Electrical energy not
only travels through the nerves, but through blood and blood vessels.
Electricity flows through muscles, tendons, ligaments,
lymphatic vessels, bones, etc. In short, every living cell has an
electric potential and all bodily functions are controlled
electrically.
What
is pain?
When
an injury takes place, cells send a quick burst of electricity to the
brain. If pain continues, it indicates there is some tissue that has
been damaged and electrical connections between cells have been
broken. The brain senses the injury because of the signals sent from
the damaged tissue to the brain. The pain signal, however, is not the
pain. Rather, pain is a broken or suppressed electrical signal between
cells in the injured tissue. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM), failure of electrical connections between cells is
not only the cause of pain, but is also considered to be the cause of
all degenerative disease.
TCM defines
pain as a “stagnation of blood” or “blockage of Qi
(life force)”. This can be interpreted as an interruption
or blocking of the body's electrical circuits. Pain occurs when
the body's electrical circuits are broken, cut, shut off, or
suppressed. If you restore electrical conductivity through the part of
the body that hurts, you can stop any pain. If you maintain
conductivity, the pain will not return.
Can
we heal pain?
The root cause
of pain can be healed naturally when the body is able to reconnect
broken circuits. When we hit our thumb with a hammer, for example, it
hurts because electrical connections between the cells have been
broken. It stops hurting when the body is able to repair and restore
the injury and broken circuits. By finding and reconnecting broken
circuits, the body can heal itself of virtually any pain.
Not everyone with an injury, inflammation, pinched nerve, nerve
damage, adhesion, or torn ligament has pain. Nerves can function perfectly with no pain even
when the nerves are pinched. The reverse is also true. Individuals can
have severe pain even if the nerve is not compressed. Imaging devices
such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs can show where the nerve is
pinched, but tell nothing about the type of signal traveling through
the nerve.
The
brain processes impulses created by pain through a mechanism of
transmission and chemical responses that alert us of the presence of
pain. Studies have shown
how these pain signals are transmitted.
Endogenous neuroactive substances such as endorphins and
enkephelins in the brain and spinal column have been found to control
the perception of pain. Prostaglandin and bradykinin are released at the sight of
injury, alerting the body of a broken circuit.
How
can we effectively block or eliminate pain?
Blocking pain
signals to the brain renders temporary relief, but does not connect
the broken circuits. Masking the pain with medication may be harmful
since pain signals cannot be suppressed without suppressing other
vital functions. Some drugs such as
narcotics and steroids have harmful side effects and are addictive. Suppressing
sensory nerves with medication may also suppress motor, bowel, kidney,
liver, respiratory and mental functions or cause gastrointestinal
bleeding. All pain killers cut the communication between the brain and
the part that hurts. The pain is still there, but the conscious mind
is not picking up the phone and listening. Meanwhile, the condition
may get worse. Symptoms may also return because memory brain cells present
in the hippocampus associated to spiritual, emotional, mental, or
physical pain will recall and respond to the original pain signals
even while taking medication.
Acupuncture
presents evidence of being able to “turn on” broken circuits, but
we cannot accurately measure the results. Acupuncture, like other pain
therapies, requires multiple treatments. What is needed is not just
something to turn on the failed circuits, but something to keep them
turned on so the pain will not return. Although surgical operations to
sever nerves to block nerve impulses can provide immediate relief, the
benefits rarely last more than six months to a year and may be
followed by intense burning pain that is worse than the original
complaint.
Electrical
resistance can play a role in reducing pain. Just touching someone and
holding pressure can reduce the electrical resistance as much as 200%,
thereby increasing the flow of electricity (a phenomenon that can be
measured and quantified). This is why touch can heal people, why
massage is therapeutic, why babies have to be held, caressed and
cuddled to develop normally. This is why acupuncture and acupressure
work. Just putting an acupuncture needle in the body can dramatically
decrease the resistance and increase the flow of electricity.
We are aware
of the sensation of touch because cells are pushed closer together.
This decreases the electrical resistance between cells. Decreasing the
electrical resistance increases the flow of electricity to the brain.
The increased flow of electricity is what tells us we have been
touched!
When there is pain, the part of the body that hurts always has more
electrical resistance. This means that the electrical signals between
cells are suppressed. If you can restore the flow of electricity
through the painful area, the pain will go away—often immediately.
If you can keep the circuits turned on, the pain will not return.
Understanding
the real cause of pain has led to the development of a new highly
effective technology used to eliminate pain through connecting broken
circuits.
Researchers
are currently experimenting with devices that emit specific intrinsic
patterns into the body through the acupuncture meridian pathways which
allow the body to self correct interrupted or suppressed signals, thus
healing itself of pain. This approach is so successful that even old chronic pain
disappears in just minutes.
Knowing
what pain is has allowed us the opportunity to discover simple ways to
eliminate pain in the body.
Dr.
John Char
is
a Holistic Dentist, Homeopathic Physician, Doctor of Natural Medicine,
Certified Licensed Massage Therapist and founder of the Bio-Life
College in Hawaii. For more on pain-free tools, see www.vitalharmonys.com
