7 Natural Ways to Treat Muscle Aches

Muscular ache is a common problem that every one of us encounters at some or other point in our life and it occurs in any part of our body like the legs, hands, arms, feet etc. The pains can range from being mild, moderate to severe.  Muscle ache can be the result of any injury or trauma to the muscle, overuse or overstress of the muscle, tension or anxiety or due to some medical conditions. Here are some natural ways to treat muscle aches.

Massage with essential oils

Essential oils act as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and therefore a massage with essential oil acts effectively in relieving muscle pains. The massage increases the blood circulation to the muscles giving warmth to it and also helps in dispersing the built up lactic acid whereas the oil relax the muscle and relieves the pain. Aroma of the essential oils helps in deep relaxation a natural healing of the body. Oils like pine, lavender, ginger and peppermint prove to be very useful in reducing muscle pain.

Epsom salt bath

Epsom salt or magnesium sulphate is a naturally occurring mineral that reduces inflammation of the muscle tissues and relieves muscle pain. It also reduces muscle pains in chronic condition like fibromyalgia. For the bath add 1-2 cups of Epsom salt to a standard size bath tub filled with warm or hot water and relax in it for 15-30 minutes. The bath helps to relieve the muscle pains and cramps, relax the body and ease the stress.

Cold therapy

Cold therapy also known as cryotherapy includes applying ice or cold to the injured site to get relief it is often used to reduce muscle pains resulting from acute sports injury. Applying ice pack or cold to the injured site slows down the blood circulation of that part resulting in reduction of pain and inflammation. It also reduces muscle spasm and internal bleeding that may follow muscle strain. Ice packs, ice massage, gel packs, chemical cold packs, vapocoolant sprays are some of the methods to apply different forms of cold therapy.

Heat therapy

Heat therapy is used to treat pains in chronic conditions like old sprains or strains, muscle spasms and muscle stiffness. Its best to avoid heat therapy in acute injuries as it may increase the swelling and cause discomfort. Heat relieves muscle pain, reduces muscle spasm and relaxes tense muscles. Heat also helps in healing muscle injury by increasing the blood flow of the affected part. Heat therapy includes two types of therapies, deep heat therapy and superficial heat therapy. Deep heat therapy includes ultrasound and shortwave and microwave diathermy whereas superficial therapy includes hot packs, infrared heat, paraffin wax and hydrotherapy.

Warm and cold bath

Exposing the sore part to alternate warm and cold water bath helps in fast relief of pains. It improves blood circulation of the affected part, reduces the swelling and pain. The cold bath numbs the painful part and relieves pain whereas hot bath relax the muscle, reduce spasm and stress level all over the body. Adding essential oils like lavender, eucalyptus and bergamot to the water can give an additional benefit.

Herbs and liniments

Certain herbs have anti-inflammatory and soothing action. Whereas herbal liniment have the ability to penetrate the skin and tissues and help in healing. Herb like Arnica has always been used in sprains and muscular soreness whereas herb like St. John’s wort has been used in relaxing muscle spasm. Devil’s claw is an herb that acts as a natural pain killer and relieves muscular soreness and aches especially in lower back and neck. Lavender and Rose Mary are well known for their aromatherapy effects they are soothing when applied to the skin and they relax spasms and cramps on being absorbed in the muscles.

Acupressure

Acupressure is a scientific method in which acupressure points in the body are stimulated by pressure to give relief.  The stimulation of these points also called the potent points triggers the release of Endorphins which are natural pain killers that relieve the muscle ache. It also helps in relaxing and healing of the muscles. Muscle relaxation and increased endorphins are the fast and natural ways to relieve muscle pains.