Best Essential Oils For Pain

When you are in pain, do you head out to the drugstore to stock up on medications to soothe away your discomfort? If so, keep reading because you may want to consider these best essential oils for pain instead.

When it comes to aching and tight muscles, we don't hesitate to take Ibuprofen. We are quick to reach for synthetic medications trusting they will heal our pain. Or we believe our doctor to write a prescription that will relieve the pain so we can back to living our lives as quickly as possible.

But did it ever occur to you that there is a better way from Nature to deal with pain besides conventional chemical medications? Have you ever considered that plants from nature could heal not only light pain but severe and chronic pain too?

The History of Essential Oils For Pain

The use of essential oils goes back thousands of years to the Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, Romans, and Greeks. They used them for not only magnificent cosmetic purposes but also for medical purposes to handle the effects of pain.

Essential oils are miracle workers that penetrate your cells. They provide oxygen and improve circulation to places in your body writhing in pain from inflammation.

The French chemist, Gattefossé, applied lavender oil to heal his hand of a burn. And because of his success, he yearned to help injured and suffering soldiers in the First World War.

Why Essential Oils Work Fast With Fewer Side Effects

Essential oils are highly effective because they get absorbed directly into your bloodstream. They go past your digestive system. It’s no wonder that essential oils have been used for centuries already to help in the practical use of aches and pains.

Check out Simply Earth and use Discount Code MOHFREE. When you subscribe you'll receive a $40 gift card with your first order and a FREE Bonus Box too.

Simply Earth is an inexpensive monthly essential oil subscription box company. Each month they'll send you everything you need to make healthy, easy, fun self-care and household products. You can learn more about how it works here. 

Many of the plants used for essential oils contain pain-relieving ingredients. This is why pharmaceutical companies use them in their synthetic pain relievers. But the fantastic news about essential oils is that they have far, far fewer side effects than synthetic pharmaceutical products.

Essential oils are compatible with the human proteins in our bodies. And they are chemically structured in similar ways to human cells – with a similar type of hormone compounds. Essential oils also have tiny amounts of chemical structures in them. As you apply them to your body, they start reaching the cells of your body within a few minutes, helping the body to begin its recovery and healing.

Let’s take a look at these best essential oils for pain to relieve your discomfort.

Basil

Uplifting and energizing. It has both muscle relaxing and anti-inflammatory benefits as well.

Peppermint

Calming and cooling with anti-inflammatory benefits. It helps the gallbladder.

Wintergreen

Warming, relieving and repairing. A naturally occuring compound found in Wintergreen, “methyl salicylate” is related to the chemical that makes asprin. Use for rheumatism, arthritis, neuralgia, bone spurs and pain.

Clove

Warm, spicy and protective. Clove does wonders for tooth pain, it improves your memory and it is anti-aging too. If you suffer from rheumatism and arthritis pain, check out what cloves can do for you.

Lavender

Calming, rejenerating and healing. Relaxing lavender is a sedative and antidepressant. Used to reduce stress. Use topically for skin healingbalances the body and helps to fight against inflammation.

Sandalwood

Now that you know about these general essential oils for pain and discomfort, let's get more specific.

When we exert ourselves, we typically feel our muscles ache for a few days, then the pain gradually subsides. But the pain that lingers on and won't go away after a few days needs more care. This is especially true when the pain is in your back or neck.

Many people experience this type of ongoing lingering pain at certain stages in their lives. When you have muscle pain, you can’t miss the feeling – aching and stabbing, shooting pains, unable to flex yourself fully.

Sometimes it makes it difficult to even drive your car. Even trying to look to the left or right can send us into agonizing muscle pain.

In these instances, I recommend you see a health-care specialist. But it's also worth working with essential oils at the same time. They can help ease pain, discomfort, nausea, and stress.

These are the best essential oils to soothe muscle pain:

Roman Chamomile

Helps with the stress and anxiety associated with muscle pain. It is a relaxant, anti-inflammatory and detoxifying.

Marjoram

Soothe pains and aches associated with muscular cramps.

Rosemary

Wonderful for the memory but known to soothe muscle soreness as well.

Thyme

Helps you overcome fatigue and is excellent for rheumatism.

You can suffer from crippling joint and bone pain for many reasons. Simply put, aging is one reason but injury and trauma to these parts of the body can also bring on pain.

As we get older our bodies go through life changes that decrease the density of our bones. It's always advised you seek medical attention from your general practitioner. But still, essential oils go a very long way to help you cope and manage this type of pain.

Recommended essential oils for bone and joint pain are:

• Lavender
• Clary Sage
• Eucalyptus
• Rosemary
• Juniper
• Yarrow
• Clove

Essential oils that assist you with pain are homeostatic. What does this mean? It means that they won't disturb your body’s normal, natural balance.

Pharmaceutical drugs are synthetic; so, when you take them, toxins get into your blood which disrupts homeostasis.

The human body, however, responds by getting rid of these toxins by use of the urinary system. Your kidneys need to work to flush these toxins from the blood, restoring homeostasis to the body. Diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory type drugs can be unhealthy for your kidneys.

Wintergreen

As mentioned above, is a very well-known pain reliever. It contains around 90% Methyl Salicylate. And when you rub it onto your affected painful areas, the Methyl Salicylate causes a soothing aesthetic effect on your nerves.

Wintergreen also increases blood circulation, bringing delicious warmth to the painful area. It is said to have cortisone-type of effects which relieves pain in rapid quick time.

While soothing your pain, wintergreen relaxes and uplifts your mood too and the strong aroma can height your senses. Aren’t these enough reasons to let nature intervene and do the curing?

Helichrysum

Another powerful pain reliever containing big amounts of Neryl Acetate. The main components of this amazing plant relieve pain and soothe trauma. It is also antispasmodic as well. Even severe stomach cramps can get quick relief from Helichrysum.

Maybe you've spent too long in the gym. Or maybe horse-riding, rowing or bending. Whatever the case sore muscles are a sign of inflammation. Healing balms with anti-inflammatory herbs can work wonders on your muscles.

Cinnamon, a very popular herb is one such soothing spice. It can keep the pain away with its prostaglandin-inhibiting properties.

And what about adding some Camphor? It is readily absorbed into your skin, acting as an anesthetic to relieve pain.

And powerful Rosemary? She is well known to reduce muscle pain and soreness, even those associated with arthritis. Ginger added in just increases the circulation and takes away the pain.

Rub this onto your sore muscles in circular movements until absorbed. Apply up to around 3 times a day as required.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate essential oils. This means that essential oils can vary according to different manufacturers. These will vary according to their strength, purity, and quality.

There are quite a few essential oils that are safe to use around young children and babies, although most experts agree you should not use them on babies under 6 months old.

To ease congestion in a baby and to help with coughs, cold and pain, there are baby-safe oil blends you can diffuse which are a natural alternative to the usual over-the-counter medications.

• Chamomile for its soothing benefits
• Citrus helps babies energy and mood levels
• Dill is antispasmodic and calming, helping to relieve the pains of indigestion
• Tea tree naturally antifungal, antimicrobial, and disinfectant. Helps to soothe the pain associated with fungal infections and diaper rash

For Teething Pain

There are some superb essential oils for teething. Some of them promote calm and relaxation, and you can add some to the above-mentioned carrier oils and massage along baby's jawline. (It is not recommended to massage directly onto baby's gums – just gently on the jawline.

Start with 2-3 Tablespoons of carrier oil and mix 1 drop of each. Massage gently along baby's jawline for teething relief.

• Roman chamomile – 1 drop
• Lavender – 1 drop
• Ginger – 1 drop

Ear Infection

If you've ever had an ear infection, you know how painful it can be. Some excellent essential oils contain antimicrobial and even antibacterial properties.

Basil essential oil and tea tree have medicinal properties known for being useful in treating infections of the ear. Tea tree oil contains terpins to kill off bacteria.

• Dilute 1-2 drops of Tea tree oil to a carrier oil (in this case it can be warm olive oil). The mixture should not be too hot. Using a clean dropper release the oil directly into the ear, with the head tilted for absorption. Wipe excess oil away.
• Don't use any of the above methods if the eardrum is perforated, and contact your doctor.

You can either apply Essential oils to your skin, or they can be inhaled.

When applying to the skin, they need to be diluted with carrier oils. You should never apply essential oils directly to your skin. Carrier oils are often overlooked because they don’t have the therapeutic constituents that essential oils have. Yet they are the companion of essential oils.

They are derived naturally from vegetable oils and are not volatile like essential oils. Things like vegetable shortening, margarine and butter are not carrier oils and are not designed for topical use. Neither should you use petroleum jelly or mineral oil as your carrier oil.

Real carrier oils are ideal to dilute your essential oils. They help to carry essential oils to your skin.

Carrier oils to mix with essential oils:

• Grape seed oil
• Apricot oil
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Sesame oil
• Canola or rapeseed oil
• Evening primrose oil
• Camellia seed oil

Using a Diffuser

Inhaling means adding a few drops of essential oil to a diffuser which you can buy if you don't already have one. You inhale the steam as you sit in a closed room. In this instance, you don’t need the added carrier oils.

If you have a headache, try peppermint oil in a diffuser or in a carrier oil topically on the forehead. Tension headaches occur when there are feelings of pressure and peppermint oil alleviates stress and tension.

Just add 5-10 drop of peppermint oil to your diffuser or warm bath for soothing effects.

Check out Simply Earth and use Discount Code MOHFREE. When you subscribe you'll receive a $40 gift card with your first order and a FREE Bonus Box too.

Simply Earth is an inexpensive monthly essential oil subscription box company. Each month they'll send you everything you need to make healthy, easy, fun self-care and household products. You can learn more about how it works here. 

Many of the plants used for essential oils contain pain-relieving ingredients. This is why pharmaceutical companies use them in their synthetic pain relievers. But the fantastic news about essential oils is that they have far, far fewer side effects than synthetic pharmaceutical products.

Essential oils are compatible with the human proteins in our bodies. And they are chemically structured in similar ways to human cells – with a similar type of hormone compounds. Essential oils also have tiny amounts of chemical structures in them. As you apply them to your body, they start reaching the cells of your body within a few minutes, helping the body to begin its recovery and healing.

Related Content: Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Guide