Pain is defined as any mental or physical suffering caused by a disease or injury. You can experience pain anywhere in your body, ranging from muscles to joints. Apart from diseases, lifestyle habits can also cause painful conditions like arthritis, sciatica, spondylosis, migraine etc. (1).
Ayurveda lays great emphasis on treating pain. It holds vitiated Vata Dosha responsible for causing pain and therefore aims all the pain-relieving remedies at pacifying Vata in the body (1).
Massage is considered one of the best ways to relieve pain. Therefore, Ayurveda proposes several herbal oils to alleviate pain, some of which can also be prepared at home. Let’s see what these pain-relieving herbal oils are.
Ayurvedic Pain Relief Oils You Can Make at Home
- Eucalyptus Oil
According to Ayurveda, eucalyptus oil is one of the best remedies for reducing pain and inflammation in the body. It is especially recommended for people experiencing back pain or those recovering from joint or muscle injury (2).
How To Make Eucalyptus Pain Relief Oil At Home?
- Take ¼ cup of eucalyptus leaves, rinse them and set them aside to dry.
- Then start crushing the leaves with your hands to extract oil. You can also cut the leaves with a knife.
- Next, take one cup of carrier oil like cold pressed virgin olive oil, coconut oil or almond oil.
- Combine the carrier oil and crushed leaves in a pot and set it on a low flame. Make sure that there is at least 1/4 cup of carrier oil resting above your leaves.
- Let the mixture steep for about 6 hours before cooling it and straining it in a glass jar.
- Garlic Oil
Loaded with anti-inflammatory properties, garlic oil is highly beneficial for managing pain. Therefore, it is vastly used in Ayurveda for treating osteoarthritis (3) (4).
How To Make Garlic Pain Relief Oil At Home?
- Take 4 cloves of garlic and crush them.
- Add the crushed garlic into a saucepan along with 1/2 cup of carrier oil such as olive oil, mustard oil, etc.
- Cook the garlic for 3 to 5 minutes on medium heat and then strain the mixture into a glass jar.
- Camphor Oil
Camphor or Kapoor oil has been used in Ayurveda for centuries to treat acute pain conditions. It is especially considered beneficial in relieving muscle cramps (5) (6).
How To Make Camphor Pain Relief Oil At Home?
- Take one big piece of camphor in powdered form and add it to 1 cup of hot but not boiling carrier oil. You can use coconut oil or mustard oil as the carrier oil.
- Allow the camphor to melt and release its pain-relieving properties.
- Then stir well and store in a glass jar.
- Nirgundi Oil
Nirgundi oil is probably the most popular Ayurvedic oil for pain relief. It has potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that help reduce inflammation and chronic pain (7).
How To Make Nirgundi Pain Relief Oil At Home?
- Take 7 to 8 tablespoons of Nirgundi leaves and wash them thoroughly with water.
- Set the leaves aside to dry.
- Next, take 5 to 6 tablespoons of mustard or sesame oil and heat it for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the leaves to the oil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool down, and then strain the oil into a glass jar.
Herbal Oils That You Can Buy
In the modern day, Ayurvedic oils have become more accessible. Therefore, you do not need to make pain-relieving oils at home. You can buy them online or at the store and use them to massage pain-stricken areas. Some of the best Ayurvedic oils in the market include Seniorz Pain Relief Oil by Zanducare
On a Final Note
Pain can cause extreme discomfort and hamper our day-to-day activities. Therefore, it is essential to manage pain, both acute and chronic.
Ayurveda provides several remedies and herbs for managing pain, one of which includes massaging through herbal oils. Some of these herbal oils, such as eucalyptus oil, garlic oil, camphor oil, and Nirgundi oil, can also be prepared at home.
References
- https://www.wjpmr.com/download/article/33032018/1523880026.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6549588/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103721/
- https://biointerfaceresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20695837114.1210412119.pdf
- https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v6i4/10041710.pdf
- http://www.ijcasereportsandimages.com/archive/2013/002-2013-ijcri/001-02-2013-hamidpour/ijcri-00102201311-hamidpour.pdf
- https://rjppd.org/HTMLPaper.aspx?Journal=Research%20Journal%20of%20Pharmacology%20and%20Pharmacodynamics;PID=2014-6-3-19