No Pain - No Gain!

We have all heard coaches, athletes, advertisements, trainers, and members of workout clubs uttering the words "no pain, no gain" as though it were a magical mantra to kick sports performance up a notch. While their intentions may be fine, the approach is one that is outdated and potentially damaging.

Pain and Inflammation 101
Pain is your body's way of letting you know that something is wrong. It does not only occur in localized areas; rather, it travels by way of the spinal cord and nervous system, thereby sending pain messages to the brain. Many sensations travel the same pathway as pain. In fact, like a highway system, numerous sensations travel the same road. The speed of the sensation determines how quickly the message gets to the brain. Pain actually travels this pathway quite slowly. Dull pain travels at approximately one-half mile to two miles per second. Sharp or burning pain travels at approximately five to thirty miles per second. Non-painful touch such as acupressure or massage travels at thirty-five to seventy-five miles per second.

Much like a sprint race where the fastest runner crosses the line first, the fastest sensation identified by the body displaces pain. This is one of the reasons why acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy and other physical therapies can be helpful in alleviating pain.
Often, pain is accompanied by inflammation--a signal that your body is sending white blood cells to the area of injury to fight infection; oxygenated blood to repair damage; and other fluids to cushion damaged cells. This process is perfectly normal and healthy; however, when inflammation lasts for long periods of time or when low-grade inflammation occurs, it is essential to get it under control.
In addition to therapies like acupuncture, acupressure, massage and other physical therapies, the best approach to overcoming pain and inflammation of injuries is a holistic approach using natural remedies like herbs, nutritional supplements, foods and spices.

Foods that Heal
Foods are not simply for our nourishment and enjoyment, they are more powerful at healing pain and inflammation than many pharmaceutical drugs. It is essential to get plenty of fatty acids in your diet while recovering from an injury, particularly from fish (especially fatty fish like salmon) and flax oil which is high in Omega-3 fatty acids-natural anti-inflammatories. Include them in your diet on a daily basis while healing. Lessen your intake of Omega-6 fatty acids during this time since they aggravate inflammation. Some examples of oils high in Omega-6s include: safflower, sunflower, and canola.
James Duke, PhD, author of The Green Pharmacy found over twenty anti-inflammatory compounds in celery and celery seeds. If you are unsure of how to add celery seeds to your diet, add them to soups, stews, chilli, and other foods in place of salt.
Berries and cherries have been extensively studied by Muraleedharan Nair, PhD, Professor of Natural Products and Chemistry at Michigan State University. She found that they are ten times more effective at alleviating inflammation than aspirin. If you cannot find fresh berries, eating frozen ones has the same effect.
Bromelain, the enzyme in pineapples, decreases pain, inflammation, and bruising. It even works to prevent injuries.

Herbs and Spices
There are many effective herbs and spices for battling injuries. Some of the most effective include: ginger, turmeric, meadowsweet, willow bark, and feverfew.
Ginger reduces prostaglandin levels that are involved in pain. All participants in an Indian study using ginger for muscular pain experienced improvements.
Turmeric, a popular spice in Indian food, contains curcumin, an anti-inflammatory that research has proven to be more effective at alleviating inflammation that cortisone. It also works as an anti-oxidant to promote healing.
The effective ingredient in aspirin, salicylic acid, was originally isolated in the herb meadowsweet and has since been found in willowbark as well. These herbs contain the natural version of this anti-inflammatory without the nasty side-effects of aspirin.
A study using a high-quality fevervew supplement found that feverfew was more effective than aspirin for alleviating pain and inflammation.

Other Nutritional Supplements
Supplement your diet with high quality nutrients like Vitamin C and bioflavonoids, trypsin, chymotrypsin, calcium lactate, and magnesium, all of which help lessen pain, inflammation, and reduce spasms that may be involved with injuries. If you add no other supplements to your diet, consider adding protease, an enzyme that has a remarkable proven capacity to dissolve inflammation and damaged cells in the body, thereby promoting healing.

Foods that Aggravate Pain and Inflammation
Countless scientific studies prove that white sugar, refined flour (and its resulting pasta and bread products), dairy products, pork, corn, wheat, oranges, cooked tomatoes, and food additives aggravate pain and inflammation. It is important to avoid these items while healing from an injury.

It is critical to listen to the message that pain is giving your body-that it needs ample rest, healing therapies, and holistic remedies and natural foods. This is the best approach to dealing with pain and inflammation caused by injuries. It is important to be patient though because, unlike pharmaceuticals which only deal with symptoms, natural remedies and foods are going to the root of the problem-the injury-to effect healing.