Natural Pain Relief Remedies for Women Battling Endometriosis

I know that wrenching feeling that comes with having endometriosis. That gnawing, aching and pulsating pain that sits in your abdomen and you can’t seem to ease it no matter what you do. I remember it from years ago when endometriosis used to dominate my life. In those days, I used to just chuck back a couple of pain-killers and hope they took effect as quickly as possible. That is until I realized that every pain-killer was affecting my health in a bad way and I had to find something which didn’t destroy my liver, my digestive and stomach lining!

So, I want to share some natural pain relief remedies for you today. These are tools and techniques which can guide you on how to deal with pain when it strikes.

I won’t lie to you… natural herbal remedies are never going to kill pain the way pain-killers do. They work on a different action in the body and are designed to “nudge” the body, rather than completely eradicate a natural signal your body is making. See, pain is a sign that your body isn’t happy about something. It is a message from your body to say: “hey, I don’t like this situation! please help!”. Often we ignore this signal and push through, which tends to make it simply yell harder. When we use natural herbal remedies for pain relief, we focus on the underlying trigger for that pain which is generally going to be a heightened inflammatory response. Inflammation is one of the key symptoms of endometriosis: bloating, pressure, water retention etc.

We can reduce this inflammatory response with herbs such as Curcumin (from Turmeric), Boswellia and Yarrow. You can get these as supplements or you could get Yarrow as a tea. They will reduce the inflammatory response and thereby reduce the pain signal becoming heightened. Curcumin has been shown to have significant results at reducing pain and particularly for women with endometriosis.

 

Another reason women with endometriosis experience pain is due to adhesions. The tighter your adhesions, the more likely it will be that you experience pain and those intense “pulling kinds” of pain. Adhesions cause organs in our abdominal cavity to stick together in ways they really shouldn’t! That means, you get intense pulling and aching when you move or sit for too long. Adhesions become tighter the more you remain in the same position and when there is limited blood flow and oxygen to the area. Many women with tight adhesions are scared to move because they are scared of the pain, but the less we move, the tighter these adhesions become and the more they will hurt. It is a little bit of a tricky one to get through!

An easy solution is to simply get into a habit of moving your abdomen in small ways each and every day. Move in the opposite direction to how you typically sit and make a point of getting up and moving up and down too.

Another alternative is to get into massages or advanced treatments like Pelvic Floor Massage with a trained physiologist. I like to do a basic Mayan Massage technique each and every morning and night to alleviate any adhesion pain and to ensure sufficient blood flow to the uterus. You can get a free demo on how to do that here.

Even simply massaging your abdomen with some lovely aromatherapy oils can really support your body and reduce adhesions and their associated pain with endometriosis.

I know it sounds odd to be recommending something as simple as breathing but often when we are stressed, anxious and in pain, our breathing becomes really, really shallow. This will limit blood flow to the abdominal area and increase the likelihood of cramping and pain. When we don’t breathe deeply enough, our cells will struggle to get enough oxygen and thereby struggle to function well. They will get irritated and feel deprived of what they need.

When we feel deprived or irritated in any way, then we naturally will feel more anxious and stressed which triggers more pain and inflammation. It is a vicious cycle!

I am sure by now you know that feeling stressed with endo, doesn’t help and makes it worse. What happens is that our sympathetic nervous system sets in. This is our “fright or flight” response and triggers the body into a heightened sense of response – as if we were running away from a tiger. Our body focuses on only things it deems important and neglects things that aren’t as important during that time. These include things like digestion and healing. Sadly, many of us stay in this stressed state for long periods of time and hence why our digestion becomes sluggish or poor and we struggle to ever truly feel well and healed.

A simple solution to this is to get into a habit of breathing. Breathing deeply and taking time to breathe. I like to practice breathing exercises which alleviate stress within a few short minutes and really re-train me to deep belly breathe.

You can get a free breathing lesson on my EndoEmpowered App or check out this great one from YouTube.

Pain relief using natural approaches goes beyond simply looking at the symptom of pain. We want to move beyond dealing with the symptom and recognize that pain is a signal or a sign that our bodies are calling out for help. When we approach the body and treating endometriosis holistically, then we address all the imbalances that are contributing to that pain and all the other associated symptoms you are currently experiencing with having endometriosis. This is about approaching the body holistically and really understanding that symptoms are superficial and what we really need is a strategy to address exactly what is going on in the body to help it heal. It is about providing a perfect environment to allow your body to feel well again and that goes beyond some supplements and coping techniques but addressing everything within your life, including your diet, your lifestyle and your daily routines.

You can find out more about how to approach the body holistically with having endometriosis through my website: www.endoempowered.com

About Melissa:

My approach to managing endometriosis is quite different from many of the conventional treatments out there. I approach our bodies with a technique I developed over the last 5 years, called the REACH Technique©. It focuses on rebalancing your body and ensuring that you provide it with the best means to be healthy again. I have seen women successfully reduce their pain and associated symptoms with endometriosis and go on to have beautiful babies, thriving careers, and really happy fulfilled lives.
Melissa Turner is an expert on endometriosis and women’s health. She is incredibly passionate about changing the lives of women with endometriosis and is tired of women being restricted by the condition. She knows there are more beneficial ways to treat the condition beyond surgery, hormone treatments, and pain-killers. Having overcome stage 4 endometriosis, she is a guiding light for women with endometriosis who are keen to use a more natural and holistic approach.

You can find out more about Melissa and her work on her website: www.endoempowered.com