Postherpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and fibromyalgia are known as the three main pain diseases in modern medicine.
For these diseases, only neuralgia after herpes zoster has been found to be caused by a virus, and some FDA-approved drugs are available, but there is a possibility of recurrence after treatment. The exact cause of the remaining pain diseases is still unknown.
More patients than expected suffer from these three main pain diseases and an unknown pain syndrome. Once they suffer from these pain diseases, they often find it difficult to lead a normal social life, and often suffer from depression.
Despite the large number of patients with pain, the reason why their pain is not recognized as much as cancer or cerebrovascular disease is because the treatment of these diseases is not yet visible or too subjective. It is said that a famous person suffered from CRPS a long time ago, and it is the current state of these three pain syndromes that social interest has increased.
Recently, rheumatologists in the United States have reduced the causes of these diseases to neurological abnormalities, and related papers have been published, but there is still a long way to go.
In oriental medicine, before treatment for patients suffering from these three major pain diseases, the priority is detoxification (detoxification) and comforting the body and mind that have deteriorated due to long suffering. This is because immediate nociceptive therapy, which stops the current pain for a while, can bring more pain to the patient.
In addition, since the recovery of the invisible nervous system is more important than anything else, it is important to breathe with the patient every day and observe the progress. At this stage, heat and medicinal treatment can be performed side by side.
For the three main pain diseases, it is important to understand and share the pain sincerely with the family and acquaintances who are watching them together with the medical staff. I am sure that these three major pain diseases, compared to a marathon, will be able to go to the path of healing at some point.
(Writing: Na Yeong-chul, director of Yeogi Oriental Medicine Hospital)
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