“UNDERSTANDING, EASING, AND ELIMINATING PAIN”

July 2026

Millions of Americans deal daily with severe and chronic pain and are challenged to find relief. But, while a plentiful array of drugs exists for the sole or principal purpose of relieving pain, taking them long-term can have serious adverse consequences—ranging from problem side effects to addiction.

And chronic pain is a cultural concern that manifests in many ways. There is extensive literature, for example, that speaks to lost time in the workplace because of pain; the burden on the family if a breadwinner is dealing with chronic pain; and the challenges of treating pain in our children. In short, the impact of chronic pain clearly extends far beyond the single patient.

Treating Pain at Its Source

Understanding the source of pain may be the key to determining the most effective treatment for each patient. Generally, we all agree that pain is a message to our brain that something has gone wrong—ranging from tissue damage to a broken heart. But each of us experiences—and endures—pain differently; and for each of us, the path to relief may be different.

Individually, we may describe our pain as acute—coming on suddenly, demanding immediate attention—or chronic—persisting for days, weeks, even years. It may be localized in our feet in the sharp, stabbing pain of plantar fasciitis; or in our head in the throbbing, often debilitating pain of migraine headaches. It may be referred pain, the chronic widespread pain of fibromyalgia, back pain, pain resulting from surgical procedures or radiation treatment, or grief, fear, and anxiety that manifests as physical pain.

In the Triangle area, we are blessed with a rich array of health care specialists who have deep understanding of the causes of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual pain, and who understand the power of traumatic life events. They have spent years of their lives learning how to treat pain and ease suffering effectively. They include acupuncturists and neurologists, anesthesiologists and surgeons; dentists who are acutely sensitive to issues of pain; pain specialists; physical therapists; massage therapists; and psychotherapists.

Further, these health care providers have an extraordinary, and growing, range of tools available to them to help patients address pain issues. New medication options—such as low-dose naltrexone—offer pain relief without the addiction-risks of opioids, and many non-pharmaceutical treatments for pain—used with or in place of medication—offer relief for sufferers.

We will examine the diversity of pain and effective treatment paths for managing and eliminating it in the next edition of Health&Healing in the Triangle. We invite you to join the conversation.

OTHER VOICES, OTHER CHOICES ARTICLES

For each issue, we invite area health care/health service providers who have a special connection to the feature topic to write articles about their work. We call this section: Other Voices, Other Choices.

Pain is an issue practitioners must reckon with in any healing process—regardless of their specialty. But there are many healers for whom pain is a primary concern of their work. This includes pain specialists, of course, but also acupuncturists, physical therapists, mental health specialists, and those who focus on geriatric care or conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia. The list is a long one. If treating pain issues is an important part of your practice, we want to hear from you, and welcome your voice in the next issue.

If you wish to be part of the conversation, see information about the Other Voices, Other Choices section in Advertising in Health&Healing, and contact us at 919-967-6802.

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ISSUE ON UNDERSTANDING, EASING AND ELIMINATING PAIN

Options include:

Advertorials: articles written by H&H staff, based on an interview. To reserve space and schedule an interview, contact H&H at 919-967-6801.

Other Voices, Other Choices: articles written by practitioners, focused on the feature topic. To reserve space, contact H&H at 919-967-6801.

Classified Health Services Directory: Contracts for listings in the Health Services Directory are for either six or twelve months. New listings may be posted at any time; complete the form on the Health Services Directory page.