PLANTS FOR PAIN BY ALIXANDRA LAUB
With the current shift in conscious consumerism and people taking their health and well being into their own hands, many of us are looking back to our roots to find solutions. In the beginning, all medicine was derived from plants- then in the late 1980’s, just 85% (and today around 15%) of modern drugs are coming from the source. While medicine these days is rather effective at masking symptoms quickly, it is no surprise that oftentimes synthetic drugs come with undesirable health consequences. With the cannabis plant blazing the path to awareness of plants as viable medicine, attention is back on some of the plants that have healed us for thousands of years. Clinical research supports what we already felt to be truecannabis seems to ease pain both topically and internally. The future will provide more conclusive information about the best method of delivery, and the dose-response relationship as it relates to specific types of pain. Until then, self-experimentation is necessary. Researchers from the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that most participants preferred indica strains for pain, sleep, and sedation, while sativa was preferred for energy and mood. The musculoskeletal system consists of the muscles, joints, cartilage, and connective tissues. Inherently these areas are prone to pain and stiffness, overuse, strenuous physical activity,
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injuries, chronic conditions, or from simple being a productive human! In fact, physical and mental stress is often the cause of the physical symptoms of tension, spasms, and pain. Removing the stressful stimuli and finding healthy coping mechanisms is the first step to relief. However, to combat pain multiple approaches should be made to find symptomatic relief including rest, relaxation, massage, and compression. Utilizing heat therapy to increase blood flow and muscle flexibility can be done by using a heat pack, or immersing in an herbal bath, hot spring, or sauna. Apply a CBD topical after using heat to enhance the benefits into the localized area. Inflammation is the body's response to stress, yet to reduce pain, inflammation must be reduced. Applying cold therapy via ice pack, or cryotherapy, should combat inflammation. Other ways to reduce pain and sensitivity is to remember the words of every gym teacher when they said “warm-up and stretch before aerobic activity”. This is crucial to reduce damage, pain, and stiffness even if athleticism is not involved. On that note, yoga and stretching are not just for the faint of heart, studies have shown significant benefits of yoga for active-duty soldiers and veterans, arguably the strongest and bravest of us all. In Switzerland, yoga has been integrated into veteran facilities where 82% of people have tried at least
one natural modality such as herbal medicine, yoga, acupuncture, etc. The major findings in many studies about yoga indicate a significant decrease in pain as well as depression and fatigue. Herbal medicine is the art and science of using herbs and natural modalities to enhance health and wellbeing. Take past and traditional medicine practices and apply them to modern-day science and this becomes the greatest time ever for understanding plants as medicine. Use teas, tinctures, topicals, essential oils, and combine them with all-natural lifestyle practices that balance the diet, herbs, vitamins and minerals, exercise, mind-body therapies. Drinking tea is probably the simplest and gentlest way to get started incorporating plant healing into your daily routine. If you are a cannabis user, if you already drink a lot of herbal tea, or if you have used essential oils, you have already experienced herbal medicine in some sense. Some easy plants to integrate belong to the mint family (Lamiaceae). The mint family is one of the largest and most distinguished families of flowering plants with over 3,500 species. Scientific research suggests that many Lamiaceae species have anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, nervecalming, stress-reducing, tension-relaxing, crampreducing, and circulatory benefits; particularly useful for musculoskeletal pain.
Many of these species are useful for reducing pain discomfort, including commonly known lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), peppermint (Mentha piperita), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). Though there are plenty of lesser-known herbs like horehound (Marrubium vulgare), motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca), skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), and hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) have shown beneficial results in labs. The best way to use these herbs? Drink as teas, use as an essential oil, combine in a CBD topical application, enjoy in a bath or even infuse into meals. Herbs like black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) and Devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) are useful for deep soreness, Kava (Piper methysticum) can be useful for spastic pain as well as anxiety, St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) and passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) can be useful for nerve pain. Arnica* (Arnica montana), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), cayenne (Capsicum annuum) and willow bark (Salix spp.) are well-established herbs used topically. Though they are not curative, these herbs are helpful. Beyond herbs, chiropractic care, acupressure, rehabilitation movements, and massage are commonly used to improve life-burdening pain. Topical CBD remedies