Essential Oils for Joint Pain

Using essential oils for joint pain can be a healthy alternative to taking prescription drugs.

I have often wondered … does using oils really work? Is this just another fad?  Interestingly enough, essential oils and other botanicals have been used for medicines for over 5000 years.

Using the oils to ease migraines was something I started doing about 5 years ago.  Why did I stop? I can’t really say. I did feel a difference over time but kept falling back into the pattern of taking a few Tylenol.  As I have gotten older, my arthritis and joint pain has become much worse.  When the season changes and cool air creeps in, I feel the stiffness begin.  This year I decided to be proactive and stay ahead of it.

I started researching essential oil recipes and stumbled upon a great article from WebMD called “Essential Oils for Knee and Joint Pain“.  Here are a few takeaways from the article:

• Essential oils have a strong scent. But that’s not what helps you feel better. The plant’s chemicals affect your brain and body. They get into your bloodstream when you put the oil on your skin or breathe it in
• Aromatherapy may also lower your stress levels and how you sense pain.

Small studies found:

• • Eucalyptus. People who breathed in eucalyptus oil had less pain and lower blood pressure after total knee replacement.
  • Frankincense and Myrrh. When used together, these oils eased joint inflammation.
  • Ginger. A group of people with ongoing knee problems reported less pain and stiffness a month after a massage with ginger oil.
  • Lavender. A massage with lavender oil helped ease musculoskeletal pain and knee pain from osteoarthritis.
  • Lemongrass. A small group of people with rheumatoid arthritis felt a little less pain after using lemongrass oil for 30 days.