Chronic Pain: Start Here
Real Relief for
Chronic Pain.
Back pain, sciatica, arthritis, stubborn aches that never fully quit — if you found me online looking for something between “just take ibuprofen” and surgery, start here.
Pain is rarely just structural. That’s good news — it means there’s more you can do.
I’m Brehan Crawford. A great deal of my clinical work centers on pain — the kind that lingers long after the injury should have healed, the kind imaging can’t fully explain. Low back pain alone is the single leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 600 million people. If you’re here, you’re in very large company, and you’ve probably been told your only options are pills or a scalpel.
Chinese medicine has spent two thousand years refining tools for exactly this. The one I’m best known for is Evil Bone Water (Zheng Gu Shui) — a topical liniment that moves blood and calms inflamed tissue. But topicals are only part of it. Circulation, terrain, and the gut-inflammation connection all shape how much pain you carry day to day.
This page is your free starting point. I’ll walk you through how to actually use a topical like Evil Bone Water, where it fits among the options you already know, and how the deeper terrain work supports lasting relief — all alongside your regular care.
“Where there is free flow, there is no pain. Where there is pain, there is no free flow. Restore the flow and the body does the rest.”
Classical TCM principle, as taught by Brehan Crawford
Move the blood, calm the tissue, mind the terrain
I think about chronic pain in layers. The fastest wins usually come from local circulation — getting blood and warmth back into stuck, inflamed tissue. But pain that keeps returning is often fed by deeper inflammation and a depleted terrain, which is where diet, the gut, and the nervous system come in.
Topical & local
Liniments like Evil Bone Water move blood and ease inflammation right where it hurts — the most direct lever you have.
Circulation & warmth
Cold, stagnant tissue holds pain. Warm water, movement, and circulation-focused habits change the baseline.
Inflammation & terrain
Systemic inflammation amplifies pain. Calming the gut and terrain lowers the volume on the whole system.
Chronic pain is the world’s leading cause of disability — and conventional options are thin
The Global Burden of Disease Study found low back pain affected about 619 million people in 2020 and is the single leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide, projected to reach 843 million by 2050.1 Researchers explicitly note a “paucity of proven effective treatments” and over-reliance on low-value care — which is exactly why accessible, lower-risk tools matter.
Your reading path, in order
If chronic musculoskeletal pain is what brought you here, start with the Evil Bone Water guides — what it is, how to use it, and how it compares — then explore the circulation and terrain pieces.
Start here. What this liniment is, where it comes from, and what it does.
The application technique most people get wrong.
A practitioner’s guide for the most common pain complaint there is.
A natural topical option for daily arthritis pain.
How it stacks up against the topicals you already know.
What to expect and how to use it safely before you start.
A simple circulation habit that supports everything else.
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
Pain wears you down in ways other people don’t see. Inside Gut Brain Synchrony you’ll find practical, free support and a community that gets it.
Join Gut Brain Synchrony — FreeEvil Bone Water (Zheng Gu Shui)
This is the topical I reach for most often for musculoskeletal pain — bruises, strains, back pain, arthritis flares. It’s a traditional liniment formulated to move blood and ease inflamed tissue, and it’s sold directly through our small family business at Crawford Wellness. Start with the complete guide to learn how to use it well.
For external use only. Do not apply to broken skin. Keep away from eyes and mucous membranes.
Painful periods were never “just part of being a woman.” That’s pain with a cause — and a cause can be addressed.
From: Cramps, Cravings & Chinese Medicine
Every chronic-pain article in one place
The full Crawford Wellness chronic-pain library, grouped for easy navigation.
The Evil Bone Water Guides
Circulation, Terrain & Whole-Body Pain
Everything you get when you join — free
Where ancient TCM wisdom meets modern neuroscience to calm your gut, clear your mind, and restore steady energy. Most of it costs nothing.
Free Classes
Short, practical modules on the respiratory, GI, and urogenital microbiomes — the foundation of gut-brain work.
A Real Community
Compare notes with people walking the same road, guided daily by herbalists and practitioners who actually do this work.
Synchrony Training
Breath, HRV, and mindful practice that calm the nervous system from the top down while you rebuild the gut from the bottom up.
Relief starts with flow.
Let’s get you moving.
Join a community built around lasting relief — practical tools, free classes, and an approach to pain that goes deeper than the next pill.
Free forever. No credit card required. Go deeper only if and when it feels right.
References
- GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators (Ferreira ML, et al.). Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990-2020, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol. 2023;5(6):e316-e329. doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(23)00098-X
- Yano JM, Yu K, Donaldson GP, et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell. 2015;161(2):264-276. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.047
- Chassaing B, Koren O, Goodrich JK, et al. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome. Nature. 2015;519(7541):92-96. doi:10.1038/nature14232
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Health decisions should always be made in partnership with a qualified healthcare provider. This page contains affiliate links — if you join or purchase through our links, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Individual results vary and are not guaranteed. · Join the Community · © Crawford Wellness · crawford-wellness.com
