Herbal Therapies To Relieve Pain

When it comes to pain relief, some are hesitant to use herbal therapies, as they feel they need strong modern drugs. But there are a wide variety of herbal painkillers out there, which can often be effective where modern medicine has failed or just as a substitute to synthetic drugs. As many modern drugs originally come from herbs, they are processed through synthetic methods which many leave residual chemicals which some people can react badly too. But herbal therapies have not always been studied as well as laboratory-created drugs, so it is not always as clear what side effects they can have and which ones are good.

Popular Herbs

One of the most common natural painkillers is Aloe Vera, which anyone who has used on a burn knows to be an effective remedy. Having an aloe cactus growing on your window sill can be a handy item to have, in case you need to treat a burn, but it is an ancient remedy that has grown in the ground long before the rise of civilization. Those who suffer from arthritis or joint pain may benefit from foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, such as vegetables, beans and fruits, for their anti-inflammatory properties. The flower Butterbur has been found to be effective in treating migraine headaches, while Devil’s Claw was found effective in treating back pain. And there are general painkillers such as evening primrose oil, white willow bark, capsaicin, Salix alba just to name a few.

Trial And Error

With all the herbs out there, and the lack of scientific research on many of them, the best approach when using herbs as painkillers is to try a few different ones to see which works for you. The scientific literature on most of these treatments does not often go further than a couple of promising studies which suggest that the herbs may be helpful, but which say that more research is needed. Everyone is different, so what works for someone else may not work for you, and vice versa. In the end you have to listen to your own body, and see which treatments help the most, which, if any, seem to have adverse effects. If you are not finding what you want from modern medicine, are having side effects and want to find an alternative, or just want to try a wide variety of treatments, there are a wide variety of herbal remedies for pain available.