Chronic Pain – Why Nutritional Therapy Works

The stories I hear in clinic from my pain clients are usually long and pass through the consulting rooms of doctors, consultants and nurses, tell of hours spent with books, blog posts and webinars and finally end up with me, feeling tired, sore and doubtful that their lives will ever get back to what they had before and what they dreamed of for their future. This post examines chronic pain and why nutritional therapy works.

Why Nutritional Therapy works for chronic pain

In my opinion, why nutritional therapy works for chronic pain is due to 2 principle reasons: 

Firstly, our daily food and lifestyle choices create the foundations for your health or ill-health.  Yes, there is the issue of your genetic make-up and there are certain elements that are out of your control.  However, food and daily habits can make a difference to how you feel.  It feels great to have something within your control when you are in chronic pain, as life feels unpredictable and uncertain.  Guidance is important here – browsing the internet can get confusing, with messages of eliminations and other extreme measures – and it is easy to become suspicious about the food you eat, rather than celebrating and enjoying it.  Nutritional Therapy offers that guidance, with tailored recommendations backed by science.

Nutritional Therapy is powerful in the battle against pain

Secondly, Nutritional Therapy doesn’t just look at the pain that an individual is presenting with and target that pain with a nutritional supplement or a type of food.  A good Nutritional Therapist will look for the sources of pain and work to correct and optimise normal bodily functions.  These sources vary from one individual to another, but will usually comprise dysfunction in one or more of the following:

Your Story is Key

Time and attention are given to client stories in Nutritional Therapy, as they are a crucial part of the detective work on what is going on and what has gone wrong.  I work with clients to unpick their complicated stories, learn about the stresses and strains they’ve experienced: the past troubles and treatments for digestive issues; problems with hormones; treatment for yeast/fungal infections; family histories of hip replacements and autoimmunity; acute viral infections with lingering symptoms.  

Nothing is irrelevant in a nutritional therapy discussion and often the key piece of information is not noted on questionnaires and forms, but given as an after-thought during conversation, with a ‘This is probably not important but….’ or ‘I’ve always felt that there was a connection between my pain and ….’.  These can be vital clues and a Nutritional Therapist will be listening out for them, cycling back to them and eventually, putting all the pieces together, before deciding where to start.

Nothing is irrelevant in a Nutritional Therapy discussion

This is a different way of doing things, in comparison to many modern day medical practices.  In my opinion, the nutritional therapy approach is powerful when it comes to chronic pain.  Individuals with various chronic pain conditions – be that unexplained generalised pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia, or diagnosed joint pain such as Rheumatoid Arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis – leave my clinic room feeling inspired to make change and feel hopeful, often for the first time in years.  This in itself, can be part of the journey toward easing pain, and is the vital ‘therapy’ side of nutritional therapy.  

It is possible to climb out of pain

I work regularly with clients in pain and I know how they feel because I’ve been there myself.  I also know that changing your diet is not always easy and is not a quick fix.  But it is a profound one. Once you’ve found the right formula for you and with some hand holding, it is possible to climb out of pain.

If this article resonates with you and you would like to discuss further why Nutritional Therapy works for chronic pain, please arrange a free call with Clare.  These are available on Mondays and Thursdays. No pressure, just time to talk through your pain, how it is affecting your life and how Clare may be able to help you.  If you are ready to take some simple steps today to get started on your journey, download Clare’s free eBlook – 5 Steps to Ease Chronic Pain.

Don’t race down the track.  Look at where you are and take one step from there.  And get some handholding along the way.