What Does Arnica Do For Pain Management?
Have you ever heard of arnica?
The vast majority of Americans have not. Those who have know that this is one of the most desirable alternatives to pain-meds, or topical analgesics (think Ben Gay or Tiger Balm).
Arnica Montana is a flower, actually a form of daisy, that grows in the Western part of the U.S.
You can typically find it in a gel, tincture or homeopathic tablets. Its main use is for bruising, pain management, and in some instances, to help with relaxation.
We like what the evidence says about arnica for helping with pain and relaxation and so that’s why Dr. Wiggy and Dr. Lantelme decided to put it in our Magnesium Sports Oil.
This powerful oil is great at helping to manage various muscle aches and muscle-bound stress.
Not only because of its main ingredient (which is magnesium chloride), but also because of the presence of arnica.
We’ll get into the details of what makes arnica so helpful for pain relief as well as relaxation.
How Arnica Helps You Heal
The truth is arnica is quite adept at helping with healing.
And if you heal, you won’t have to deal with as much pain and the associated stress that comes with being injured.
Dr. Axe says this in an article on how it helps you heal:
“Arnica oil is a potent remedy for various inflammatory and exercise-related injuries. The positive effects of topically applying arnica have proven to be effective in reducing pain, indicators of inflammation and muscle damage, which in turn can improve athletic performance. Study participants who used arnica had less pain and muscle tenderness 72 hours after intense exercise, according to the results published in the European Journal of Sport Science.
Arnica has been used in traditional medicine for everything from hematomas, contusions, sprains and rheumatic diseases to superficial inflammations of the skin. One of the constituents of arnica that makes it such a potent anti-inflammatory is helenalin, a sesquiterpene lactone.
In addition, the thymol found in arnica has been found to be an effective vasodilator of subcutaneous blood capillaries, which helps facilitate the transport of blood and other fluid accumulations and acts as an anti-inflammatory to aid normal healing processes. Arnica oil also stimulates the flow of white blood cells, which process congested blood to help disperse trapped fluid from the muscles, joints and bruised tissue.”
That’s a lot of sciency language to show that the compounds inside of arnica are quite beneficial for helping your body feel better.
Plus, as we’ve mentioned in previous articles and as Dr. Wiggy has written about, you get a lot of mileage out of magnesium and essential oils when it comes to pain relief and relaxation.
If you frequently deal with tight muscles as well as localized pain from working out, or stress, you may like our Magnesium Sports Oil.