Back Pain And Essential Oils
Whether your back pain has been brought about by an accident causing a misalignment in the spine, or simply from a prolonged strain, there are ways to find pain relief from the discomfort that you’re feeling in your back.
The spine is one of the most important parts of our body, and it needs to be properly cared for.
Using Essential Oils to reduce back pain and inflammation is just one of the many uses for these potent fragrant oils.
Essential oils can be found in the stems, roots, petals, and other parts of various plants.
They are usually removed from the plant through steam distillation.
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Essential Oils And Back Pain Relief
There are many ways to find relief from back pain, whether it is from a car accident, or just poor ergonomics resulting in subluxation of the spine.
Your spine is the most important structure of your body as it transmits all the impulses from the brain to organs and is the controlling factor in our movement. In order to care for our spine, essential oils can help with back pain and inflammation of muscles, These are just some of the benefits of these fragment and potent oils.
These essential oils can be derived from roots, stems, petals and other plant biproducts.
The main method that essential oils are recovered is from distillation, much the same as making moonshine with a still.
Add It To A Relaxing Bath
Bathing with essential oils is a lush and luxurious way to loosen up and soothe stiff muscles.
Simply add 10 to 12 drops of essential oil to an ounce of a carrier oil. Add that to the water flowing from your faucet and allow the water to disperse before getting into the tub.
You can also add to the ambiance by lighting a scented candle or listening to some calming music.
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Essential Oils That Can Help You With Your Back Pain
Back Pain can occur for many different reasons and will plague most Americans at some point in their life for one reason or another.
Back pain can make everyday activities such as sitting, standing, lifting, and even lying down almost completely unbearable.
Luckily, there are Essential Oils for Back Pain Relief.
How do those work, you wonder?
In this blog, we take a look into back pain and how essential oils contribute to relieving it.
Chronic Persistent Back Pain Requires Surgery
Some causes of chronic or persistent back pain may require surgery. These include a serious spinal cord condition known as cauda equina syndrome, along with degenerative spinal conditions like ruptured spinal discs and spondylolisthesis. While stabilizing or decompressing the spine may be necessary for certain people, most patients will have other options.
There are many possibilities out there for treating these types of symptoms without a surgical procedure. Some of the treatments also have no known side effects and may not require the use of medication. Try various remedies and therapies to learn what is right for you. When you overwork your back, you may need a day or two of rest.
When looking at other lower back pain treatment options, acute injuries or swelling can be treated with ice or cold therapy, while heat therapy can help with chronic spasms or discomfort. You may also find success with the help of an ultrasound device, alternative medicines like acupuncture, or one of our laser therapy belts.
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Top 5 Essential Oils That Commonly Help To Relieve Back Pain
May 14, 2021 by Dr. Brent Wells
Back pain is extremely common and frustrating. According to experts, 80% of the population will suffer from back pain at some point. Often back pain isnt caused by serious conditions, which means you have to manage your pain until your back is healthy again.
If youre looking to avoid excess use of painkillers and try an all-natural solution, essentials oils may be right for you. Managing your back pain is possible with essential oils. In fact, recent studies now support the medicinal properties of essential oils for pain conditions, including back pain.
Lets go over how essential oils work and which ones have shown positive results in studies on back pain.
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure policy here.
Contents
Lavender Essential Oil For Back Pain
Lavender oil is one of the best choices for aromatherapy. Lavender essential oil is distilled from the plant Lavandula angustifolia lavender essential oil is believed to treat anxiety, fungal infections, allergies, sleep deficiency like insomnia. It is widely used because of its multiple health benefits and mesmerizing smell.
The lavender essential oil contains Linalyl acetate, which is known to be a wound healer. It promotes your body’s overall well-being by soothing the strained nerves, improving blood circulation, and relieving your body’s soreness, mainly when massaged with it. Lavender oil also promotes the healing of skin tissues.
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Getting Started With Essential Oils
Essential oils are easy-to-use but there are a few precautions you should take. First of all, you should only try essential oils if approved by your doctor. For example, if youre pregnant, or suffer from asthma or allergies, essential oils might not be right for you.
As a rule of thumb, you should never apply essential oils directly to the skin. They must always be diluted before applying them. Generally speaking, every drop of essential oil should follow the 1:12 rule: one drop of essential oil should be diluted with 12 drops of a base oil. Base oils called carrier oils includes oils like coconut, olive or almond.
In addition, essential oils should never be ingested orally. They also should never be inhaled or used for longer than an hour.
When you first start using essential oils, its a good idea to start with a small amount with a high dilution ratio. This way you can be sure youre not experiencing any side effects, which may include rashes or allergic reactions. If you suffer any symptoms after using essential oils, stop using them and consult a doctor.
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All Back Pain Requires Plenty Of Rest
If you experience a minor muscle strain or ligament sprain, a few days of rest may help. Keeping the pressure and weight off your back muscles will allow the strain to heal so you can get back to your normal activities. Lower back pain that is caused by lifestyle factors like chronic stress or menstrual cramps may not be helped by staying still. In these cases, physical activity may be the answer for relieving strain and tension.
Find the right activity for you. If you have a diagnosed back condition and are new to any of these workouts, talk to your doctor before you begin. You should also stop an activity and talk to your provider if you experience any new pain. Some of the most popular exercises for lower back pain include:
If you rest for a short time and are still having pain, talk to a doctor about what you are feeling. He or she can help you start some form of treatment, so you can start to feel better as soon as possible. When you do not exercise, your back and abdominal muscles can become weak. This will only worsen your pain, spasms, and general discomfort.
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Essential Oils For Nerve Pain
Nerve pain can be downright debilitating, necessitating immediate relief by any means. Normally, our nerves are protected by our skull and spinal cord. This allows nerve signals to rapidly communicate from one end of the body to the other.
However, sometimes this protection can be compromised, such as with sciatica or the shingles. Nerves become exposed and, consequently, damaged.3
Though nerve damage requires a lot more medical attention than simple pain relief, essential oils for shingles pain may be very effective until the root of the problem is treated. In fact, when using essential oils for nerve pain relief, pain may become more manageable.
Though nerve pain can be caused by a variety of issues, they are all related to inflammation and swelling.3 As such, the recommended essential oils for sciatica nerve pain will often be the same as the essential oils for shingles nerve pain.
Nerve Pain Aromatherapy Pain Relief
Eucalyptus essential oil is especially helpful with nerve pain as it works via aromatherapy. To benefit from its pain-reducing properties, place a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil into a diffuser and let the aroma fill the air.
Breathe in the air for 30 minutes a day until the pain subsides.
Easing Your Back Pain With Laser Therapy
Now that you know more about easing your back pain with laser therapy, it is time to discover which product is right for you. We have different levels of output for every lifestyle and preference. Choose from three separate levels of coverage for your needs:
- CuraviUltra Belt: Convenient and economical, the CuraviUltra belt provides great coverage, with 420 mW total output of pure laser light. Breathable Laserflex technology adjusts to your body shape, while the non-pharmaceutical treatment will help to ease your symptoms without the use of invasive procedures.
- CuraviPlus Belt: With up to 800 mW of total output, the excellent coverage provided by the CuraviPlus is not only powerful, but also affordable. It helps to relieve aching, pain, and stiffness with medical-grade laser diodes in a convenient 30-minute session.
- CuraviPro Belt: This premier device offers professional-grade coverage, with 1,000 mW total output. As the pure laser light modulates the inflammatory process for fast relief, the CuraviPro belt will also help to stimulate an increase in local blood circulation. Relax and calm your muscles even further with a gentle heating sensation that complements the laser light therapy. In addition to a drug-free and painless treatment, you will also have the peace of mind of knowing that no adverse effects have been reported concerning our belts.
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Risks And Worries Associated With Essential Oils
As with most things in life, even with the purest and most natural things, risks can occur. While essential oils are overwhelmingly safe, too much of anything can be harmful. If you only eat broccoli every day is massive quantities, broccoli can become a health risk as well! The same goes for using essential oils.
As we discussed above, certain hot essential oils can cause irritation on the skin if they are not diluted in a carrier oil. To avoid this, use a carrier oil to lessen the strength of an essential oil.
You also do not want to use in the sun as they can cause burns to the skin. These oils are citrus-based oils and should not be applied before going out in the sun.
In the end, essential oils are a safe, natural, and effective way to treat back pain and neck pain. Give one or more of the above oils a try and get back to feeling your best in no time at all!
Peppermint Essential Oil For Back Pain
Peppermint essential oil comes from a minty herb, which is a cross between spearmint and water mint. Peppermint oil will give a cooling effect on your body as it is a mint herb. Peppermint essential oil can cool lower back pain and joint pain.
Peppermint essential oil is a natural painkiller and also relaxes muscles. You can mix coconut oil, lavender, frankincense, and cypress essential oil with peppermint essential oil for better results. It not only relieves pain and inflammation in your muscles but also improves blood circulation to that area for faster recovery.
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Add It To A Cold Or Warm Compress
Compresses are known to relieve pain, inflammation, and swelling. You can boost these effects by adding your chosen essential oil to the fabric.
To make an essential oil compress:
Essential Oils For Tendon Pain
Tendon pain is usually caused by inflammation and swelling. This is most often seen in the knees and the wrists. The best essential oils for wrist pain and knee pain will treat the inflammation of the tendons and increase blood flow to the area.
Frankincense essential oil can significantly reduce swelling while wintergreen essential oil will increase blood flow, thanks to the cooling sensation. Add 2 drops each of frankincense essential oil and wintergreen essential oil to a carrier oil, and gently rub into the affected area.
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Best Essential Oils For Back Pain Relief
Using essential oils for back pain is a popular practice, as there are many anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic benefits to using these natural oils. Back pain, however, comes in many different forms, and is caused by many different things. Back pain can be acute, and the main causes of this include strained muscles or ligaments, often through lifting heavy objects or moving in rapid, unusual ways. Some of the more chronic or long-term back pain problems stem from arthritis, bulging disks, pinched nerves, osteoporosis, curvature of the spine, sleep disorders, spinal infections, poor posture or an uncomfortable mattress. Furthermore, habits like straining the neck, bending down for long periods of time, carrying large items, bending, twisting, sneezing, coughing and extended periods of driving or standing can also cause back pain.
Help Alleviate Pain Using Essential Oil
Clinical research has shown that some of these aromatherapy oils can alleviate various ailments in the body, including pain
So What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils , derive from the bark, fruit, flowers, seeds and leaves, of a broad spectrum of common plants. These oils are then diluted down so that they can be applied topically .
Which Essential Oils Are Best For Pain?
There is an enormous selection of wonderful aromatherapy oils on the market, so it is important to know which ones are suitable for your pain. You may like to try out several of them to see which ones you prefer, as the more you like the aroma, the more beneficial they are likely to be. Note: always check that there are no contra-indications to use. The following aromatherapy oils are known to ameliorate pain, including back and shoulder pain:
Peppermint Oil
One of Mother natures most powerful painkillers, peppermint oil is frequently used for alleviating pain .
Wintergreen Oil
Closely related to peppermint, wintergreen oil boasts similar properties due to its methyl salicylate component. Note: talk to a doctor if youre taking blood thinners or other medications, as wintergreen can increase the risk of bleeding .
Eucalyptus Oil
With its well known anti-inflammatory benefits, this aromatherapy favourite can promote an analgesic effect in the joints and muscles. Indeed: a 2015 clinical review found that eucalyptus oil has promise in treating ailments such as arthritis .
Ginger Oil
Lemongrass Oil
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Pain Relief That Does Not Involve A Prescription
Lower back pain can range in severity from mild to excruciating. Those with more intense levels of pain often turn to over-the-counter or prescription pain killers that can bring quick relief, but taking them too often can result in a variety of side effects.
Those who prefer natural remedies might turn to pain relief that includes alternating heat and cold, a message, or use of a topical ointment. Using essential oils for lower back pain is another natural way to bring relief for those who prefer to limit their NSAID intake.
What Causes Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain can be described in two ways: a dull constant ache or severe and sudden sharp pain that can leave the individual incapacitated, unable to stand or sit. The lower back is the region where most individuals feel the most pain. There are several causes of lower back pain which include:
- Sprains and strains
- Traumatic injury to the back
- Spondylolisthesis
- And more
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The 10 Best Essential Oils For Back Pain And How They Work
When applied topically, the following essential oils have been shown to relieve backaches and soothe inflamed muscles:
Summary
