Arthritis is associated with crippling pain in many more areas than just the neck. It can affect every joint in our body, and those of us who suffer from chronic pain know just how debilitating this disorder can be. We are going to take a quick look at the overall issues associated with this and then go over what essential oils can do good for you and which are the best for arthritis.
Best Essential Oils For Arthritis Comparison
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Ginger |
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Turmeric |
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Frankincense |
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Myrrh |
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Orange |
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Peppermint |
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Eucalyptus |
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Lavender |
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Cayenne |
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Rosemary |
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Lemongrass |
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Birch/Sweet Birch |
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Wintergreen |
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What Is Arthritis?
In short, arthritis is the medical term used for any inflammation in the joints. So this means when your hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, etc. start to ache when you move them then you may be suffering from this disorder. Of course, we are not doctors and aren’t suggesting that you diagnose yourself.
If you are having new joint pain then you should probably make an appointment to see your healthcare professional. But, if you already know that you have arthritis then keep reading. These oils can be a nice addition to any pain regimen you already have in use.
What Causes Arthritis?
Arthritis is divided into three types: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gouty arthritis. While the pain is felt on the joints, the cause of damage is different for each.
Osteoarthritis
This is the type of arthritis that results from our body’s accumulated movement in our joints, which is why it tends to come on during the middle age and/or older years of one’s life. The cartilage in the joints can wear away over time, which leaves bone-on-bone friction, and that causes pain and inflammation.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
When a person’s immunity starts to backfire, this system can go after the lining of the joint capsule, also known as the synovial membrane. This causes inflammation and will lead to chronic pain. Rheumatoid arthritis can worsen and spread as well as consume one’s cartilage and possibly bone.
Gouty Arthritis
This disorder is a type of arthritis caused by an excess of uric acid in the blood. It causes sharp crystals to form in the joints, which causes them to get inflamed due to the irritation.
What To Look Out For
There are certain types of people who are more likely to develop arthritis. Here are a few factors that increase a person’s risk.
- Joint injury: If you have already hurt a joint in your body then you might be more likely to develop arthritis in that joint. Many joint injuries happen while playing sports.
- Obesity: When your bones are required to carry more weight than they are designed to, the stress can cause premature wear and tear on your joints.
- Genetics: If your grandparents and parents have arthritis then you may develop it since there are certain types that are genetic.
- Gender: Women tend to develop rheumatoid arthritis more often than men. But men are more likely to develop gout.
- Age: When you age, you are more likely to develop any type of arthritis.
Essential Oils As A Treatment For Arthritis
If you are unfamiliar with exactly what essential oils are, here is a crash course. In short, they are the pure essence of nature. For example, lavender oil is one of the most popular scents in aromatherapy. It is created by steam, distilling the extracts from lavender flowers.
There are several ways essential oils can be extracted from their source. Some are steam distilled like the lavender oil we mentioned while others are cold pressed, which is a pricking method that is typically used for citrus oils like orange and bergamot.
How To Use Essential Oils For Arthritis
When it comes to these powerful extracts, there are three ways you can use them to reduce your inflammation.
Topical
This is the most effective way to use your selected oils on the joints that are giving you problems. It is important to mention that essential oils are volatile compounds and are too strong to just apply to your skin. Due to this, it is important that you dilute your chosen scents with a good carrier oil like fractionated coconut or jojoba.
There are specific ratios you should use, but once your scents are diluted, you can apply them to your wrists, knees, or any joints that are flaring up.
Inhalation
Out of the three methods where you can use essential oils, this is probably the most popular. It is called aromatherapy for a reason because the scent is one of its most powerful aspects.
You can inhale your scents in an ultrasonic diffuser, a nebulizer, with reeds by evaporation, on a terra cotta structure, and even just put a few drops on a cotton ball. The idea is to fill your room with the scents you’ve chosen to help you relieve your pain.
Ingestion
The final way to utilize your essential oils is actually the least recommended way. While some people put a drop of lavender in their lemonade, it is always recommended that you consult a healthcare professional before consuming any of the volatile extracts.
13 Best Essential Oils For Arthritis
Now that we’ve covered what arthritis is, what the types are, who is at risk, and how to use essential oils safely to help with your pain, here are the fifteen best essential oils for arthritis.
Ginger
- Scent: Strong, spicy
- Other benefits: Anti-anxiety, antioxidant, and promotes heart health
- Blends well with frankincense, sandalwood, and vetiver
This spicy scent, which is derived from the rhizome, comes with a wealth of benefits. As for why it has made it on this list is simply due to its anti-inflammatory properties, specifically the type surrounding the joints. A great way to use this oil is to put a few drops into some jojoba oil and applying it to the affected area.
As for the other benefits you’ll find in your little bottle of ginger oil, those would include treating an upset stomach, help with infections, heart health, and a bit of ease from anxiety. Ginger essential oils are also great for respiratory issues like coughs and work great as an antioxidant
Who Should Buy This?
Ginger is a great choice for anyone who likes a strong spicy smell and is looking for a strong extract to help them fight the pain.
Turmeric
- Scent: Woody, earthy, and spicy
- Other benefits: Fights common cold, anxiety and beautifies skin
- Blends well with citrus, clary sage, and ylang-ylang
This next oil might possibly remind you of a bright yellow tint that is native to some ethnic cuisines like Indian. When it comes to the oil, the extraction maintains the curcumin, which is the active ingredient. A study in 2016 shows that this oil may reduce inflammation around the joints, although further analysis is needed.
Other benefits of turmeric oil include promoting neurologic health, improves liver function, relieves anxiety, helps with the common cold, and does wonders for the skin.
Who Should Purchase This?
This oil is a great choice for anyone who is fond of woody, earthy scents that are also a little bit spicy. It fights bacteria, fungi, and viruses as well, which makes it useful for more than just your arthritis.
Frankincense
- Scent: Musky, Earthy, and sweet
- Other benefits: Disinfecting, helps with focus, promotes oral health
- Blends well with lavender, clary sage, and lime
Used in a lot of religious ceremonies, this oil is quite popular, most likely due to all the amazing health benefits it comes with. When it comes to arthritis, this essential oil also works as a strong anti-inflammatory. One study shows that people with bad knees who were treated with Indian frankincense showed an increase in mobility and were able to walk for longer distances.
Other benefits of this ancient scent include helping the mind focus, disinfecting surfaces and the air, aiding with relaxation, and promoting oral health.
Who Should Purchase This?
Anyone who is a fan of sweet, musky scents should give Frankincense a try. Also, it’s a great choice for someone who has a hard time focusing.
Myrrh
- Scent: Sweet, woody, like black licorice
- Additional benefits: Promotes healthy skin and oral health
- Blends well with frankincense, clove, and lavender
Here we have another biblical scent that comes in handy with an arthritis flare-up, Rheumatoid arthritis in particular. It is helpful with this painful disorder because it is extracted from a gum that comes for a tree resin used for its healing properties by many cultures throughout history.
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, myrrh is also beneficial to the skin and helps delay aging. It also helps with chapped lips and has compounds that promote oral health.
Who Should Purchase This?
Myrrh is a great choice for the person who is a fan of black licorice. While this scent isn’t as prominent, it has been described as such and has a woody aroma that steers toward the sweet side.
Orange
- Scent: citrus, orange
- Additional benefits: Great for cleaning, fights acne, and lifts moods
- Blends well with chamomile, lavender, and frankincense
This is the first citrus oil on our list, which is extracted by the cold pressing process we touched on earlier. It too has anti-inflammatory properties, which are wonderful when the joints start to become inflamed. Orange essential oil does this by containing antioxidant properties that interrupt the immunity response.
On top of fighting inflammation, orange extracts also help with acne, promotes an uplifting feeling in those that smell it, and can work wonders on those foot calluses.
Who Should Purchase This?
Orange oil is the perfect choice for anyone who is a lover of citrus scents. As with most citrus oils, this one has phototoxicity, which means you need to avoid contact with the sun after applying topically.
Peppermint
- Scent: Strong, mint, menthol
- Additional benefits: Relief from respiratory issues and prevents bad breath
- Blends well with chamomile, lavender, and lemon
Mint is a powerful ally when it comes to pain, and this particular version of it, peppermint, is especially powerful when it comes to fighting inflammation. This is because it contains powerful compounds- menthol and limonene, which are both used to promote healing. It is very strong so it should be diluted well before applying topically to any part of your body.
Peppermint is also known for its calming qualities, helping with irritable bowel syndrome, easing for respiratory issues, curing bad breath, repelling mosquitoes, and easing sunburn.
Who Should Purchase This?
Mint lovers should give peppermint oil a try because it’s pain relieving properties work well. Also, it brings so many other health benefits to the table that it is hard to find another oil that’s equal as far as power is concerned.
Eucalyptus
- Scent: Pine, mint, and honey
- Additional benefits: Accelerates healing, fights cold sores, and helps with bladder problems.
- Blends well with lavender, lemon, and orange
Extracted from the leaves of a tree native to Australia, some of us know eucalyptus from the cute koala bear that consumes them regularly for meals. The truth is, this oil is another powerhouse when it comes to relieving pain and bringing in a wealth of other benefits.
This oils also helps with respiratory issues, can fight cold sores, relieves bladder issues, reduces fever, and can help the speedy healing of wounds and burns.
Who Should Purchase This?
Fans of unique scents that mix sweetness, mint, and pine in one. Also, this is a great choice for anyone who is looking to get a lot out of the oil they choose to purchase. With all the additional benefits this oil brings, it’s a smart selection.
Lavender
- Scent: flowery, clean, light
- Additional benefits: Heals burns, relieves stress, and repels insects
- Blends well with lemon, ylang-ylang, frankincense
Here we have one of my favorite scents, and it isn’t any surprise to me that it would be helpful when it comes to any type of arthritis. It’s a wonderful healer and pain reliever. With its own anti-inflammatory properties, this oil is tough to beat when it comes to fighting joint pain.
It has a wealth of other benefits as well including healing burns, repelling insects, fighting acne, relieving stress and anxiety, and helping the inhaler get a good night’s sleep
Who Should Purchase This?
Anyone who is new to the aromatherapy world should give this oil a try because it’s an easy one to start with. It’s one of the safest out there and has a pleasing scent that appeals to most people. However, you should be careful with lavender oil around any preteens or prepubescent boys because it is a hormone disruptor.
Cayenne
- Scent: mild but spicy
- Additional benefits: May lower blood pressure, boosts metabolism, aids digestion
- Blends well with peppermint, ginger, and eucalyptus
Peppers are very popular in most cultures, particularly those that like a little bit of spice in their cuisine. It’s not surprising because chilis, like the peppers that create cayenne, hold a wealth of healing properties. When it comes to arthritis, cayenne oil helps due to the capsaicin it holds inside, which is the heat.
It is put in patches and creams to relieve pain, so it only makes sense that the essential oil derived from it would help. It has also been used to curb hunger pains, lower blood pressure, and help improve the symptoms of psoriasis.
Who Should Purchase This?
If you love mild spicy scents then this is the one for you. It can be strong, like anything else that includes capsaicin. It is definitely recommended to dilute this in some coconut or sweet almond oil before applying topically.
Rosemary
- Scent: Pine-like
- Additional benefits: Eases stress, repels bugs, increases circulation
- Blends well with chamomile, lemongrass, and sage
While this scent is paired with roasting red potatoes in the kitchen and added into stews, the extracts distilled from the pine needles come with a world of benefits, one of which is ease from arthritic pain. Not only does it contain compounds that fight the pain and inflammation, but they also may help prevent the breakdown of cartilage, which is the ultimate cause of arthritis.
Despite all this help that rosemary oil offers for arthritis sufferers, they also will find that it works well as a bug repellent, helps increase circulation, lifts moods, and could do wonders for cognitive functioning.
Who Should Purchase This?
Fans of rosemary scent, which is a bit like pine, should give this oil a try. It’s a good selection because it offers so many other benefits on top of reducing arthritis inflammation.
Lemongrass
- Scent: Light, lemon, green
- Additional benefits: Antifungal, antibacterial, and antioxidant
- Blends well with lavender, eucalyptus, and rosemary
You’ll start to notice a theme here when I mention that lemongrass oil has anti-inflammatory compounds, which may seem redundant, but the basis of arthritis is inflammation of the joints, so the oils with these properties will be on this list.
On top of fighting arthritis, lemongrass oil has also been used to help with asthma, diabetes, and high cholesterol. It works as an antifungal, antibacterial, and an antioxidant. In addition to all that, lemongrass oil fights gastric ulcers and helps relieve nausea.
Who Should Purchase This?
Lemongrass oil is a good choice for someone who is looking for arthritic relief but is not looking for a strong smelling oil. Also, it’s a good choice for someone with high cholesterol.
Birch/Sweet Birch
- Scent: Sharp, sweet, camphoraceous
- Additional benefits: promotes healthy urinary tract, treats skin disorders, and detoxifies
- Blends well with sandalwood, rosemary, and jasmine
This oil not only works as an anti-inflammatory, but it is also used as an antispasmodic, which is good for the muscles near the inflammation. Birch is also good for gout, which is a version of arthritis that most people don’t associate with joint inflammation.
Birch fights bacteria and fungus that cause infections, it has been used to help control diabetes, works as a skin toner, detoxifier, and promotes a healthy urinary tract. It can bring added benefits to your hair and can help you with skin disorders.
Who Should Purchase This?
Birch would be an excellent purchase for anyone who likes the smell of root beer since the scent of this oil has been compared to it. Described as sweet, sharp, and camphoraceous in its aroma. If those scents appeal to you then this is your oil.
Wintergreen
- Scent: Fresh, minty
- Additional benefits: deodorant and blood stimulation
- Blends well with thyme, vanilla, and ylang-ylang.
Even though there hasn’t been a lot of research on this, wintergreen in leaf form has been used to treat rheumatism. The oils extracted from the wintergreen leaf have also been used to relieve muscle pain. Still, this essential oil is one of the strongest out there and should be used with caution. Do not apply it directly to your skin, make sure to dilute it well. In fact, consult a professional before using this oil just to be on the safe side.
That said, with that type of power comes a lot of extras. It has been used for relaxation, relief of spasms, deodorant, and blood stimulation. It needs to be said that a person should NEVER ingest wintergreen essential oil. It can do some serious damage to your internal organs.
Who Should Buy This?
Only the serious aromatherapist should consider purchasing this oil. It is not recommended for beginners, and if you do keep some around the house, keep it well out of the reach of your children and pets.
In Conclusion
There you have it, thirteen of the best essential oils for you to consider and use the next time your arthritis starts to flare up. In the list of oils we crafted above, there should be something for everyone. The beginner has an option, so do the intermediate practitioner that is looking to try a new scent, there even might be an oil that will appeal to a professional reading this piece.
The most important thing is that you find what works best for you and keep moving in that direction. If you find one oil that meets your needs, you might want to sit on that one for a while. Or, you might want to try another, and another, and yet another. A bonus is that you will have the peace of mind knowing you chose a natural remedy.
The post The 13 Best Essential Oils For Arthritis appeared first on Better Mind Body Soul.
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