When body aches and pains strike, many people may reach for a painkiller or muscle relaxer to ease their discomfort. In fact, if you visit a traditional medical doctor for your pain, he or she will likely write you a prescription for these types of medication or, at the very least, recommend an over-the-counter NSAID. However, taking these kinds of medications — prescription or over-the-counter — can come at a cost to your health.
Instead, consider these natural remedies for treating your body aches and pains.
Book an Appointment With a Chiropractor
Although you may be used to seeing your MD for all your health-related concerns, if you’re having muscle, joint or connective tissue pain, consider booking an appointment with a chiropractor who is trained in hands-on treatment.
Before booking an appointment, however, check out the chiropractor’s reviews, so you can see what real patients think. For example, County Line Chiropractic Lauderhill has a wide variety of patient reviews posted so prospective patients can feel confident about making an appointment.
When you visit a chiropractor, he or she will likely make recommendations for natural pain relief between treatments. However, here a few you can also consider.
Hot and Cold Packs
When you have an ache or pain, you might have heard conflicting advice about whether you should use an ice pack or a heat pack for your pain. The truth is that both pieces of advices are right. Instead of picking whichever one you agree with most, do both.
Alternate hot and cold packs, giving each 20 minutes to work for the pain. One 20-minute session with each should suffice. But try two if you have time for it. Aim to apply heat and cold packs every day where possible, and keep your limb elevated during the treatment if it’s swollen.
Move
It sounds counterproductive to move if you have an injury or ache of some sort, but inactivity can make aches and pains worse. Tense, immobile legs can cause stress for the knees, for example. The stress results from weak and unused muscles causing instability.
If you can, go for a walk and do some stretches. It will do wonders for your joints and body — now and in the long run.
Use Collagen
Collagen is a type of protein that contains 19 amino acids and is essential in the functioning of the human body. Collagen helps the joints and keeps them (and connective tissues) healthy and working efficiently. Part of collagen’s role is keeping the body free of pain. It’s also vital in keeping joints and muscles growing and repairing themselves correctly.
You can take a collagen supplement to get more collagen to help your body. There are tons of them available over-the-counter, including collagen protein powders.
Other ways to consume more collagen include:
- Real bone broth
- Egg-shell membranes
- Beef
- Fish
- Chicken
Use Epsom Salts
You may have already heard of this classic method: Taking a bath and soaking in Epsom salts can give you some slow, soothing relief.
Part of the relief you’ll feel comes from the bath water. Its warmth can help reduce inflammation while making you and your muscles relax. The rest comes from the salts, which are full of magnesium and sulfates. The salt gets absorbed through your skin, further aiding relaxation, inflammation. Plus, it’s a remedy that can help relieve muscle spasms.
Two cups of salt should suffice for your average bathtub, followed by 20 minutes of soothing soaking. Soak longer for more relief, and the more Epsom baths you take, the more relief you’re going to get.
If you’re not sure where to get Epsom salts, most pharmacies have them in stock. They’re also sold in some grocery stores, around the medical stuff like Band-Aids, supplements and vitamins.
Hyaluronic Acid Supplements
Hyaluronic acid supplements are especially good for arthritis pain. For knee osteoarthritis, sometimes hyaluronic acid injections are administered as a treatment by a chiropractor.
Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in the body and it resembles synovial fluid, found in the joints. It’s great for achy joints, dry eyes, your skin and has several other benefits including helping ease general aches and pains.
Hyaluronic acid is all-natural, safe and doesn’t interact with other medications or supplements. It can also speed up wound healing if you have a wound around the area of your pain – but a topical version of this useful little acid may work best for that, paired with an oral one.