When it comes to chronic pain, alternative chronic pain remedies are the best way to go. In fact, natural remedies should be used before prescription or over-the-counter-drugs. The only exception to this rule is the case of extreme pain due to broken bones, or the chronic pain associated with terminal cancer.

Why should you stay away from drugs to alleviate chronic pain? The side effects that accompany many of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain drugs can be fatal. According to the American Gastroenterological Association, more than seven thousand people die every year, along with thousands more that are harmed due to taking prescription or over-the-counter painkillers.

Alternative pain relief remedies can control chronic pain just as good as or better than prescription or over-the-counter drugs. However, if you are already taking prescription pain drugs for chronic pain, check with your physician before discontinuing your medications.

- A natural substance by the name of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) boosts levels of a neurotransmitter, or brain chemical called serotonin. You tend to have a lower threshold of pain when you are low in serotonin. The lower your serotonin the more quickly, severe, and longer you will experience pain.

In addition, higher levels of serotonin are beneficial in helping you sleep better and more deeply. People who sleep deep tend to be more chronic pain free than people whom sleep badly.

Doctors in the treatment of arthritis-like symptoms, migraine headaches, and fibromyalgia have used 5-HTP many times. You can reduce or eliminate chronic pain by increasing your serotonin levels. Try to take 200 milligrams of 5-HTP daily. Do not take it without your doctor’s approval because 5-HTP is still relatively new and the long-term effects have not yet been ascertained.

- Another great serotonin booster is vitamin B6. It is a co-factor for the production of serotonin. Studies have shown that vitamin B6 helps alleviate chronic pain and chronic pain syndrome. It is recommended that you take a high-potency B-complex supplement that gives you a daily dose of fifty milligrams of the majority of the B vitamins.

- If you are the typical American, then you eat many processed foods and are always under the umbrella of stress. Living this type of lifestyle robs your body of the all-important nutrient sulfur, which is important in dealing with inflammation, healing, and pain.

Many supplements that contain sulfur can play a major role in relieving arthritis pain. Sulfur should be part of the healing therapy for anyone dealing with chronic pain. The best sulfur is MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), which helps to heal connective tissue, significantly reduces swelling, and boosts the manufacturing of pain reducing, detoxifying sulfur-holding amino acids. Try to incorporate at least 500 milligrams three times daily.

- Turmeric is a spice from India that contains a substance called curcumin, which has the ability to reduce joint inflammation, stiffness, and chronic pain associated with arthritis. It does all of this better than or as well as NSAIDs without the side effects.

Curcumin helps to alleviate pain by reducing the number of inflammatory processes in the body. It also helps to improve circulation to the problematic area. Try taking a supplement of 200 milligrams of curcumin three times a day until pain free.

Alternative Pain Relief Using Herbs

- A powerful anti-inflammatory herb called boswellia helps prevent the production of inflammatory substances called leukotrienes, which reduces swelling and pain. Furthermore, it does not cause kidney failure, GI bleeding, and ulceration like many NSAIDs. For pain, try to take 250 milligrams three to four times a day.

- Try speeding blood flow to the injured area with bromelain, which is an herb that contains a proteolytic enzyme that digests proteins. This enzyme can also digest blood clots in the body, thereby improving blood flow to areas affected by chronic pain. Bromelain is also an anti-inflammatory.

People suffering with chronic pain should take 500 milligrams a day.

Chronic Pain Remedies

- Make sure you have adequate amounts of zinc in your body. Inadequate amounts of zinc in the body can cause chronic pain and inflammation. This can cause infections of the upper respiratory system, and a delay in healing. People over the age of fifty are more susceptible to zinc deficiency because zinc levels drop as you age. Zinc deficiencies are also prevalent in people who consume large amounts of pasta, bread, chips, crackers, and gluten cereals. To alleviate chronic pain, try taking twenty-five to fifty milligrams of zinc daily.