5 Ways to Relieve Pain Without Pills
We know you'd roll your eyes if we even suggested you cure agonizing pain with deep breathing and some yoga. But hear us out: Complementary and alternative therapies can provide serious help.
By Karen Asp
Photo: Getty Images
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Medical Marijuana
What it is: Use of the cannabis plant, in its whole form or as pills, oils, or extracts, for health-related purposes.
Science says: "Cannabinoids bind to special receptors in the brain that are responsible for controlling many physiological systems, including pain," says Mark Ware, MD, associate professor of family medicine and anesthesia at McGill University in Montreal. A study in The Journal of Pain reveals that people with chronic pain who used medical marijuana for a year showed significant improvements compared with their non-cannabis-using peers.
Best for: A variety of chronic pain conditions, but particularly those related to neuropathic pain, which is caused by nerve damage.
From the
April 2016 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
