Herbal Remedies For Arthritis

Arthritis, which means an inflammation or swelling of the joints is a chronic disease. It’s a reaction of the joint tissues to previous damage and it has major effects on the bones as well. There are more than one hundred and fifty types of arthritis but the most common ones are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, and gout. There are many different causes of arthritis and range from things like stress and environmental factors to sever accidents or trauma to nutrient deficiencies and food allergies. There are many who believe that living in a cold and damp climate can contribute to such problems and others that also believe that excessive body weight and extensive exercise over a period of years (such as a serious athlete) can contribute to the development of arthritis.  It can also be because of hormonal factors or your diet.

There are, however some simple home remedies that can be effective treatments for arthritis and most of them are fairly easy and inexpensive. A great way to begin is by rubbing affected area with a warm olive oil with herbs or essential oils mixed into it. You can use ones like thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, sassafras, garlic, juniper, and so forth to get relief from painful joints. It’s also a good idea to use those same herbs in a steam bath, allowing the herbs to soak in the hot water. The warms is good for bringing down the inflammation of joints and the steam helps your body absorb the healing properties of the herbs more quickly which can help them be more effective as well. Massages are especially good after a warm bath and you can rub herbs and essential oils into the skin as well to help heal the arthritis. When taking baths however it’s important to avoid any cold water treatments or sprays as this will only aggravate the condition. Using sea salts in addition to your herbs is also said to be very effect when taking herbal baths. You can also add some hot vinegar to your bath and rub that on your joints for added relief. Ginger, camphor and epson salts are all very effective at reducing the symptoms of arthritis and garlic does particularly well also. You can also do a castor oil rub that will help a lot and you can blend herbs and essential oils into that as well to make it even more effective.

Another great idea when it comes to using herbs for arthritis is to take a lot of them internally so that they can have a good effect on your body from the inside out. Garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, and even nettle are very helpful for healing problems with arthritis and they’re so easy to cook with especially if you make potent dishes with them like soups or broths and the bonus of having warm foods like those will help your body as well. Just be careful about adding too much salt as this can cancel out the good effects of your herbs and cause your body to become dehydrated which will aggravate your arthritis.

You can also use or specially make soaps and lotions that contain healing herbs and oils that can be applied on a daily basis to help counteract the symptoms of your arthritis. You can custom make these yourself using specific herbs that you like best or that will work best for your condition.

There are plenty of ways that you can use herbs and natural home remedies to help relieve the symptoms of your arthritis and all it takes is a little extra preparation and soon you’ll be feeling much better.