The odds are that either you or someone very close to you is in some type of pain. Actually, you can probably name 5 people you know dealing with some type of pain right now off the top of your head. Out of these 5 people, how many are using natural herbal pain relief? I'm willing to guess that probably none of them. Have they even heard of natural herbal pain relief? Maybe 1 or 2 is going to a chiropractor or an acupuncturist. How often is that person receiving acupuncture treatments? I am also willing to guess not more than once a week. How many of these 5 people are either taking one or more pharmaceuticals a day or even opting for surgery? arctic blast pain relief

As an acupuncturist, herbalist and a natural medical practitioner, I believe I can sum up people in pain in 3 categories.

1) The Doctor's #1 Fan- "If the doctor doesn't recommend it, it either won't work, or it is dangerous. I must only take medication or possibly surgery. I will blindly follow my doctor because, after all, he is a doctor, isn't he?"

2) Not Instant Results So Didn't Work- "I have tried some natural methods. I did acupuncture a few months ago for 2 weeks and I didn't really get any better so I stopped. I took a few herbs, some natural herbal pain relief pills my friend told me to take, but after a week I didn't get better so it doesn't work."

3) The Motivated and Sensible Patient- "I am totally focusing on my healing and am doing what I can to get completely better or as best as humanly possible. I am doing acupuncture 3 times a week, and am taking a high quality and potent herbal remedy prescribed to me by a licensed and qualified practitioner. I want to be cured!"

Which one of these do you think will be completely out of pain or at least as pain free as humanly possible and med free the quickest? I know the answer is obviously #3.

How does Patient #1 expect to get healed? They may be out of pain, but how could they expect permanent long-lasting pain relief? Even if surgery gets them out of pain, was the root cause addressed making sure the problem won't come back later on? What were the risks of surgery?

Patient #2, is my dream patient. Yes, I know, very frustrating, but this is when I get a chance to really educate someone in the difference between natural herbal pain relief, true healing and what modern medicine considers an acceptable form of health care maintenance. But this is what I can never understand. This person has been in pain for let's say, 2 years. They have been to "the best" doctors and have been on medication for years. They suffer side effects from the meds and without the meds their pain is unbearable. Why would they then expect 3 acupuncture treatments and some herb they bought in the health food store for $10 to take away all their problems? This is a complete lack of understanding of the healing process and the time needed to complete it.

Patient #3 is either well informed, very intelligent, or both. They go out and try and educate others, so then those people can become well informed and be able to make intelligent decisions.

What you have to ask yourself is, what is healing and what is a cure and what is just maintaining and is temporary solution?

But pain relief really isn't the goal. Only on the surface layer it is. I have 7 natural herbal pain relief formulas on my Eastern Essentials website, but is simple pain relief REALLY the goal?

What is causing the pain? THAT we must treat. It is not enough to just take a drug that blocks pain from reaching your brain if you actually want any type of cure. We need to get to the root of the problem. What is causing the pain, and what is keeping it from getting better?

For example, one of many herbs in all my natural herbal pain relief formulas is Yan Hu Suo. This herb DOES relieve pain and it has been scientifically proven to contain at least 20 pain relieving alkaloids. But one of the main things it does is strongly increase blood circulation. There is a Chinese saying, "Pain equals stagnation." That is why to relieve pan we need to get the blood moving. In all actuality, MANY diseases have a decrease in blood circulation as one of the main factors. The blood must circulate and it must circulate properly!

There are many other aspects to address such as reducing inflammation, healing damaged or worn tissues, and strengthening the person in general to stimulate the body's own healing power.

The most important thing for anyone trying to get out of pain, is to be well informed of what each option has to offer. Natural herbal pain relief goes back many centuries and has proven time and time again to have excellent results. Wouldn't it be wise to at least give it a fair try before jumping to surgery or getting addicted to medication? There is a time for medication and for surgery, but if the problem isn't life threatening, why not give my herbal formulas at Eastern Essentials a try? Do you want true healing or just to maintain? You could even take a pharmaceutical for the instant result, and take an herbal remedy at the same time for long-term treatment. As long as there are no bad drug-herb interactions