10 Drug-free Remedies to Relieve Pain Now

Lean Back in Your Chair

Setting up work chairs and home furniture, such as recliners, so you’re leaning back just a little bit -- instead of sitting ramrod straight or slouched forward -- can reduce your neck, shoulder, back and hip pain by 30 percent or more, UCLA researchers say. This relaxing position reduces the strain on all the muscles, tendons and ligaments that support your upper body, says a Dr. “That helps existing injuries heal more quickly, plus it can prevent future flare-ups as well.” Can’t adjust your chair? Slipping a small, rolled-up towel behind your lower back can also do the trick.

Try Online Yoga
In a recent study at Pittsburgh’s University of Pennsylvania, just practicing 20 minutes of yoga daily helped women cut even chronic pain by 60 percent in eight weeks. Yoga’s gentle stretches speed healing by boosting the flow of nutrient-rich blood to tissues, plus they prod your brain to produce painkilling endorphins, the study authors say. And you don’t need to schlep out to classes every week, either. You can take online lessons at sites like yogadownload.com and myyogaonline.com or download Deepak Chopra’s Authentic Yoga -- an app available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod at itunes.apple.com. 

Daydream Your Pain Away

Spend 10 minutes each day relaxing in a quiet, comfy nook of your home while you visualize yourself in a peaceful setting and you’ll boost your brain’s production of the pain killing hormones serotonin and dopamine, say researchers. In fact, their studies show that people who spend a few minutes daily relaxing and dreaming about blissful retreats report 40 percent less pain overall -- and follow-up research shows that this simple trick can help soothe even chronic back, head and joint pain.

Don't Sit Too Long

Desk-bound workers -- and sedentary folks at home -- who start getting up more frequently to do small tasks, like filing papers, tossing in a load of laundry or pouring a cup of coffee, can reduce their stiffness and pain by as much as 67 percent in two weeks, according to studies. The reason: Regularly moving, even if it’s for as little as one minute each time, stretches and loosens tight muscles, flushes pain-triggering inflammation out of joints, reducing the pressure on sensitive pain nerves by 30 percent, the study authors say. Keep forgetting? Set a timer to go off every 30 minutes -- then get up to do a small task before sitting back down again, suggests an orthopedic surgeon.

Make the Most of Weekends

Your to-do list is probably a mile long, but if you switch gears on the weekends and make time for fun, friends and laughter, you’ll cut your pain flare-ups in half, researchers say. Turns out good fun and good moods trigger the release of powerful natural painkillers called enkephalins. Too burned-out to get together with people? Carve out some alone-time and treat yourself by doing something that makes you feel content, such as watching a funny movie, soaking in the tub or reading a great book, suggests a Dr. “You’ll get the same pain-soothing perk, along with some much-needed rest and solitude.”

Stop and Smell the Lavender

In a study, inhaling the scent of pure lavender essential oil reduced aches and pains within five minutes. “When this aroma reaches the brain, it stimulates production of calming, pain-soothing alpha waves,” explains a Dr. Lavender essential oil is available in health food stores. Keep a vial handy, and sniff slowly and deeply whenever you need relief.

Tip: Try inhaling this scent at bedtime. According to researchers at Chicago’s Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, the aroma of lavender is so calming that it induces sleep as effectively as prescription sedatives.

Sip Meadowsweet tea

Looking for an effective, aspirin-like painkiller, that won’t cause tummy upsets if you take it daily? Try meadowsweet tea. According to British researchers, this herbal brew is rich in salicin and salicylic acid, the natural painkillers that man-made aspirin is copied from, plus it contains a unique blend of stomach-soothing mucilage and tannins that prevents the common side effect of an upset stomach. You’ll find meadowsweet tea in most health food stores. Steep 10 minutes (use one teaspoon per cup of water, if you’re starting with loose leaf tea), then sweeten to taste with sugar or honey. Sip two cups daily.

Try a Sulfur Supplement

MSM -- also known as methylsulfonylmethane -- is a safe, natural sulfur compound that blocks pain signals, boosts blood flow to injured tissues, prevents the release of pain-triggering hormones, such as histamine, and significantly reduces muscle spasms, according to researchers. In fact, their studies suggest that taking MSM erases pain for almost 70 percent of people within three months, even if nothing else makes a dent in their misery! You’ll find MSM in capsule and powder form in health food stores (the powder is more economical, and it can be dissolved in water or juice). Take two to six grams daily.

Turn Up the Heat

Dust off your old heating pad or hot water bottle! Just warming up achy areas provides 25 percent more relief from pain and stiffness than either ibuprofen or acetaminophen, say researchers. Bonus: If you apply heat before muscle-straining activities, such as gardening or golf, you could cut your risk of a painful injury in half, the study authors say. Heat relaxes tight, tender muscles, plus it improves blood flow to injured tissues, helping to flush out pain-triggering compounds such as prostaglandins, explains a Dr.

Cushion Your Spine While You Sleep

Slip a big, fluffy pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back, and put it beneath your hips if you can only sleep on your belly. Prefer snoozing on your side? Tuck a thinner pillow between your knees, instead. These pillow tricks will improve the alignment of your spine during sleep, cutting 55 pounds of pain-triggering pressure off of your back, say experts.

Tip: If a saggy bed makes your aches and pains more prominent in the morning (and deep sleep more elusive at night) try flipping or turning your mattress every two weeks. If you're lodged in a well-worn, spine-straining groove in your mattress, slip a 1/4 inch sheet of plywood between the mattress and box spring to get more support.

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

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