Did you know that there are several alternatives to pain medication when it comes to pain management? This article discusses several methods, mostly natural, to help you deal with pain. Some of the treatments discussed include massage therapy, acupuncture, biofeedback, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Read on to find out the many different methods available for coping with pain.
Ancient Romans thought that jolting the temples of headache sufferers with electric shocks from live torpedo fish would make the pain vanish. It’s not clear whether zapping a person with fishy electricity was helpful or if it simply gave the victim another source of agony to focus on. But it didn’t take humans long to discover other sources of pain relief. By 1300 B.C., the Inca in Peru had discovered that coca leaves—the source of cocaine—could numb pain when chewed or applied to wounds. By that time, people in Asia and Egypt had learned to extract opium from the poppy plant, creating the earliest version of an opioid pain drug, similar to what we use today (think hydrocodone and oxycodone). We have (mostly) moved beyond electric fish to other treatments that can alleviate or reduce pain. Here’s our overview of some common pain management treatments and the conditions for which they work best.