Angina and Chest Pain - Holistic and Alternative Medicine Solutions

Angina Symptoms

Chest pain diagnosed as angina or heart pain may actually be referred pain from myofascial trigger points (tiny contraction knots) in strained or overworked pectoral muscles of the chest.

It goes without saying that your chest symptoms can be signs of a true medical problem. Nevertheless, trigger points are a common cause of pain and that the public suffers needlessly because too many doctors are still uninformed about them. Physicians who are unaware of the myofascial causes of chest pain can be led to a wide range of mistaken diagnoses and misdirected treatment, including needless surgery.

Imaginary Pain?

When pain comes from trigger points, it's not unusual for diagnosis to entirely elude the physician, who then is apt to write the problem off as minor or imaginary and categorize it as untreatable.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 6 million Americans have angina pectoris. While it may not cause long-term damage to the heart, it is considered a sign of heart disease, and indicates that a person is at increased risk of suffering a heart attack or cardiac arrest. Of the different types of angina pectoris, one of the most common is stable (or chronic) angina, which occurs with some level of regularity and may be caused by physical exertion or different kinds of stress.

Holistic and alternative medicine therapies can help with certain types of angina.

The links below will take you to that therapy page, where you can view our practitioners directory for that therapy, and use our "instant info" to email a question to the relevant practitioners.

Chiropractic May Help Relieve Angina Pectoris

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers in Denmark have provided evidence that manual therapy performed by a doctor of chiropractic is effective in treating chest pain.

The results of the study, which appear in a recent issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, indicate that patients with a specific type of angina pectoris may benefit from a four-week session of regular chiropractic care, although the authors of the study caution that further trials need to be conducted to verify their findings. More than 70 percent of the CTA-positive patients reported improvements in chest pain and general health after receiving manual therapy; only 26 percent reported no change, and no patients reported feeling worse at the end of treatment. In comparison, 13.5 percent of patients in the control group reported worse chest pain at follow-up, and 15.4 percent reported a decline in general health. When asked directly, 96 percent of the CTA-positive patients thought that chiropractic treatment had been beneficial.

The results of this study are encouraging; however, at this point, they should not be interpreted to mean that manual therapy is an effective alternative to traditional medical care in the treatment of chest pain, whether stable angina, unstable angina or variant angina (also known as Prinzmetal's angina). People with new, worsening or persistent chest pain and discomfort should be examined in a hospital emergency department for a complete evaluation.

Reference
Christensen HW, Vach W, Gichangi A, et al. Manual therapy for patients with stable angina pectoris: a nonrandomized open prospective trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics November 2005;28(11):654-661.

Massage Therapy, with Trigger Point or Neuromuscular Therapy Technique Massage therapists trained in trigger point techniques are able to release trigger points and aid in chest pain. Often referred to as Neuromuscular therapy, or NMT, there are two major training programs that certify massage therapists for this specialty: St Johns NMT and NMT American Version.

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