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Alternative medicine - pain relief

Contents of this page:

Illustrations

Acupuncture
Acupuncture

Alternative Names    Return to top

Acupuncture - pain relief; Hypnosis - pain relief

Information    Return to top

Alternative medicine refers to treatments that you use instead of standard ones. (If you use an alternative treatment along with standard medicine or therapy, it's considered complementary therapy.)

There are many forms of alternative medicine.

For many people, acupuncture is an effective means of relieving pain. This may be particularly true for back pain and headache pain. Acupuncture may also help relieve pain due to:

How acupuncture relieves pain is not entirely clear.

Hypnosis is a focused state of concentration. Self-hypnosis (in which you repeat a positive statement over and over) or guided imagery (a technique to create relaxing images in your mind) may be simple but effective ways to reduce pain for many people.

Hypnosis is being considered for pain relief following surgery and during labor, as well as for pain due to:

Both acupuncture and hypnosis are often offered by pain management centers in the United States. Other non-drug methods used at such centers include:

Update Date: 11/7/2007

Updated by: Steven D. Ehrlich, N.M.D., private practice specializing in complementary and alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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