As we get older, issues such as joint pain and knee pain become more prevalent. With every step we take, we put a certain amount of stress and impact on our knees. After many years, this can start taking a real toll. Our joints start to hurt, and every step is a painful one.
Now, you might think that you need some kind of expensive or dangerous prescription medication, but this probably isn’t the case.
The reality is that there are some secret weapons out there that can help you annihilate knee and joint pain with ease. Today, we’re going to take a look at four specific herbs and naturally occurring substances that are able to do just that, including rosemary, comfrey, and juniper.
Common Causes of Knee and Joint Pain
One of the things that you might be wondering is why your joints and knees hurt in the first place. Well, there are actually a variety of reasons or possible causes of both joint and knee pain. Let’s take a quick look at what they are.
Arthritis
OK, so technically speaking, there are two different forms of arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common form, and this is when the cartilage between the bones wears down. Rheumatoid arthritis is actually an autoimmune disorder where your immune system attacks your joints, therefore causing pain and inflammation.
Injuries
Perhaps one of the most common causes of joint and knee pain is simple injuries. These could include, but are not limited to, fractures, tears, sprains, and strains on the knee joint or the muscles surrounding the knees. These could be either short-term or long-term injuries. As you get older, however, those short-term injuries start becoming more chronic in nature.
Tendonitis
Another issue that may be causing joint and knee pain is tendonitis. Tendonitis is characterized by irritation and inflammation of the tendons around the joints, generally due to frequent and repetitive movements and general overuse.
Overuse
Related to the above point, it may also be the case that your knees and other joints hurt because you are using them far too often, performing repeat motions, and you have poor form. Using your joints such as your knees in a wrong or a less-than-ideal way over and over again can certainly lead to pain.
Obesity
Yet another common cause of joint and knee pain is obesity. Simply put, having so much excess weight on your knees puts a great amount of stress on them, and eventually makes them hurt.
Impacts of Knee and Joint Pain
Now that we know why you have joint pain and knee pain, let’s take a quick look at some of the long-term effects that this may have on you if left untreated.
Worsening Pain
If you have joint and knee pain now, if you leave it untreated, it’s just going to get worse. Eventually, that pain might just become unbearable.
Inflexibility
One of the most common effects of knee pain is that you’ll start to lose your flexibility. The more knee pain you have, the less likely you are to want to move your knee. The less you move your knee, the less you exercise the joint, the tendons, and the muscles, ultimately resulting in drastically reduced flexibility.
Immobility
Just like persistent knee and joint pain leads to inflexibility, it will also lead to immobility. The less you use that knee, the less you’ll be able to use it, and ultimately this may result in a complete lack of mobility.
Increased Risk of Injury
The less you use your knee and the more inflexible and immobile it becomes, the greater the chances of you suffering an injury. For instance, if you slip and try to catch yourself, if your knee and leg are not mobile and flexible enough to balance properly, you might end up injuring yourself. Furthermore, a lack of mobility and flexibility is also linked to an increased risk of slips and falls.
A Lower Quality of Life
Overall, that knee pain is just going to lead to a much worse quality of life, particularly as you get older.
Best Herbs to Use for Joint Pain
Although knee and joint pain are no joke, there are natural substances that you can use to reduce the pain, or potentially even to eliminate it. Let’s take a quick look at the four best herbs to use for joint and knee pain, and how to use them.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a great natural substance to help reduce inflammation, specifically due to the main ingredients contained in it, carnosol and rosmarinic acid. Both of these substances feature antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help reduce inflammation by inhibiting various enzymes associated with your inflammatory response.
Rosemary Tea Recipe
- To make Rosemary tea, get roughly two teaspoons of chopped rosemary leaves for every cup of water. Just rinse the rosemary, bring your water to a boil, and then let the rosemary steep for about 10 minutes before drinking. You may always add some honey for a bit of extra sweetness.
Comfrey
We then have comfrey, which is a fantastic substance due to the main compound it contains, allantoin, which is not only soothing in nature, but also has anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties. It should therefore be ideal for reducing or even eliminating knee pain and joint pain.
Comfrey Poultice Recipe
- Comfrey is one of the few things on this list that should probably not be consumed orally, as it may be slightly toxic to the liver and other organs. However, it is fine to use topically. Get a good handful of comfrey and grind it into a paste along with a bit of water, making it just thick enough so you can spread it over the affected area, and not so thin that it runs off. There are many other herbs out there that can also help with inflammation, such as all of the ones on this list today. Therefore, you could mix all of the four naturally occurring substances we’re talking about today into one poultice and spread it over your painful joints.
Black Cohosh
Next on the list is black cohosh, which although more research is required on this front, is thought to have a variety of anti-inflammatory effects. This means that it should be able to help reduce inflammation associated with sprains, tears, and even arthritis. Generally speaking, you would consume this substance in the form of a supplement, as finding the actual plant can be relatively difficult.
Black Cohosh Tea Recipe
- To make a tea out of a black cohosh, you’ll need to take the roots, dry them, and grind them into a fine powder. Use roughly one teaspoon of dried black cohosh root powder for every cup of water. Boil some water and let the roots steep for up to 15 minutes before removing them. Depending on how fine your powder is, you might need a strainer or sieve.
Juniper
Juniper is full of compounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids, both of which are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant in nature. There is research out there which shows that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of this naturally occurring substance is able to help reduce joint pain and inflammation, such as that caused by arthritis.
Juniper Berry Smoothie Recipe
- While it is possible to make a juniper berry smoothie, beware that the flavor may be a bit bitter and pungent. All you really need to do here is to take one cup of your favorite yogurt, a cup of ice cubes, a whole banana, a handful of chopped strawberries, and around 10 or 15 juniper berries, along with some honey if desired. Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different herbs and naturally occurring substances out there that can help reduce knee pain and joint pain, all without the need to turn to expensive, addictive, or dangerous prescription medications. Try one of our recipes and see how it works for you!
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