Hands On Approach to Pain Management Touted

If you struggle with aches and pains that refuse to go away, you just might find relief with a long-practiced but relatively obscure alternative therapy called naprapathy.

Naprapathic medicine treats connective tissue pain by using hands-on manipulation, nutritional counseling, and, sometimes, therapies such as heat, ultrasound, or cold laser therapy. Connective tissue, which includes ligaments, tendons, and muscle, is the material inside the body that provides support to its many parts.

"Naprapathy is hands-on connective tissue manipulation therapy, plus nutritional counseling," says Dr. Paul Maguire, president of the National College of Naprapathic Medicine in Chicago.

"It's noninvasive, so there's no downside to it, and it's a feel-good type of treatment that gets results," Dr. Maguire says. Plus, it is a treatment that has been around for a long time, he adds, noting that his school is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Relief and Less Disability

"Naprapathy is a gentle system of manipulation that can relieve the pinching of areas causing restriction to nerves," Dr. Maguire explains. It is designed to stretch connective tissue and relieve pain.

Conditions that may be helped by naprapathy include carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, headaches, neck pain, knee strain, sciatica, shoulder pain, and tennis elbow, according to Dr. Maguire.

A recent study published in The Clinical Journal of Pain that included more than 400 people with back or neck pain found that those treated with naprapathic medicine were more likely to have symptom relief and less disability.

Compared to standard medical advice, which included staying active and learning pain coping strategies, treatment with naprapathic medicine was 27 percent more likely to cause a reduction in pain and 18 percent more likely to cause a reduction in the risk of disability, the study found.

Overall, those who underwent naprapathic treatments were 44 percent more likely to perceive that they were recovered than those in the standard group, according to the study.

Connective Tissue Massage a Plus

Naprapathic practitioners are currently licensed in just two states - Illinois and New Mexico. Dr. Maguire says many practitioners become licensed in these states and then practice elsewhere, sometimes obtaining other licenses, such as massage therapy, in their own states.

"This therapy is on the fringe of medical treatment and seems to be picking up pieces that other modalities have left behind," says Dr. Gerard Varlotta, director of sports rehabilitation at New York University Medical Center.

Manual manipulation of connective tissue could be useful for conditions such as fibromyalgia, some rheumatological disorders, and in sports medicine.

But Dr. Varlotta offers some advice. "Make sure the practitioner is educated, and that what they say makes sense. If they promise to cure cancer, that's not what they're going to be doing.

"But, if you have realistic expectations, that they'll try to free up areas that have become restricted over time, that's reasonable," says Dr. Varlotta.

Always consult your physician for more information.