As 21st century humans, it seems like we’re always looking to the future — the next breakthrough, the next post in our social media feed, the next show to binge. But we’re also awakening to important knowledge our ancestors possessed for centuries, including natural ways to care for the earth and our bodies.
Natural pain relievers aren’t a new discovery. Indigenous populations of the world have continued the traditions that many of us forgot in the face of “progress.” For thousands of years, our ancestors relied on willow bark, mint, aloe, hemp and more to treat injuries and illnesses.
As we find ourselves increasingly reluctant to give our money to big pharmaceutical companies and add more drugs into our lives, we can benefit from tapping into natural practices and the remedies that the earth offers.
Today, we’ll look at a few natural pain relievers and how they might help you.
Before We Start
Natural pain relievers, supplements, and oils are not regulated by the FDA. That means there isn’t regulatory oversight on the purity or amounts of natural ingredients in products. It’s important that you research the products you purchase.
Always look for a third-party lab report or other verification of the purity and amount of what you’re getting.
Since traditional medicine supplements aren’t regulated, the FDA makes it clear that no one can make claims that they “diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” Today, we’ll look at what research has been done, as well as centuries of anecdotal evidence.
White Willow Bark
Did you know that aspirin is a descendant of white willow bark? The active analgesic (pain relieving) ingredient in aspirin is salicin, or salicylic acid, which was originally discovered in willow bark. In fact, the word salicin comes from the species name of the willow, Salix.
The earliest known recorded use of willow bark for pain relief goes back 3,500 years to ancient Egypt, but it has been used in traditional medicine the world over, from Sumeria to England.
While white willow bark itself contains a much smaller amount of salicin than aspirin, it’s still trusted by people the world over as a natural option to pharmaceutical pain relief. People use it to treat pain for muscles and joints, headaches, colds, arthritis, and much more.
You’re likely not too excited by the idea of chewing on a chunk of tree bark, but you can find white willow bark in a number of products, from capsules to topicals.
Menthol
You’re already familiar with the many uses of menthol, from muscle pain to congestion. It’s one of the multi-tools of the natural pain relief world.
Menthol can ease dyspnea, or difficulty breathing, which is why you find rubs and topicals to help with allergies and colds. It also soothes throat irritation.
When it comes to muscle and joint pain, menthol has proven to be such a useful natural remedy that the FDA has approved a topical menthol patch for over-the-counter pain relief.
How does it work? Menthol is a counterirritant. That means it causes a minor irritation to your skin that works against your current irritation. This is why your skin feels alternately cool and then warm when you apply menthol to it.
Other counterirritants include camphor, garlic, and wintergreen — all of which are popular natural remedies. In fact, we combine menthol, wintergreen, black pepper oil and CBD in our Cooling Formula balm stick for muscles and joints. Together, these powerful soothing ingredients gang up on your discomfort.
Shea Butter
If menthol is a natural medicine multi-tool, then shea butter must be Inspector Gadget. It possesses a host of benefits, from moisturizing skin to fighting bacteria.
This versatile ingredient comes from the shea tree, which grows in 21 countries across Africa. It has been a source of skin relief, as well as income and empowerment for women across Africa for centuries.
Since the time of Cleopatra, we’ve looked to shea butter to moisturize our skin, treat dandruff and eczema, and soothe sunburns and bug bites. The reason shea butter is so effective on skin irritations is simple — it’s an anti-inflammatory.
By slowing the creation of cells that create inflammation, shea butter calms and prevents painful skin irritation. Many people even look to it to soothe joint and muscle pain for that reason.
Tea Tree Oil
We’ll leave Africa and take a trip to Australia where we’ll find the melaleuca alternifolia, or tea tree. Like shea butter, this wonderful supplement packs a powerful and versatile punch.
In addition to serving as a potent antiseptic, antifungal, and cleaning agent, tea tree oil is also a handy anti-inflammatory and it has been found to soothe a wide range of skin irritations.
Lavender
Sure, we love lavender for its gorgeous scent, but many people also rely on it as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent.
Lavender is indigenous to where Europe and the Mediterranean meet, but it’s now cultivated all over the world.
We bring the Mediterranean, Europe, Australia, and Africa together in our Soothing Formula CBD balm stick, combining CBD with shea butter, tea tree oil, and lavender for a therapeutic and great-smelling muscle pain remedy. It’s the United Nations of natural therapies.
CBD
While we’re on the topic of CBD, is it a natural pain reliever? The scientific results are limited, but the use of CBD for pain in both humans and animals is the subject of continuous research — due, in part, to the abundance of anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness against pain and discomfort.
We do know that CBD interacts with receptors in our endocannabinoid system, which is integrated with our central and peripheral nervous systems, and that people the world over use it for a host of therapeutic purposes.
We combine CBD with other trusty natural ingredients like menthol, white willow bark, camphor oil, lavender, and more for powerful topicals formulated specifically for your needs.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of the enormous world of natural pain relievers. Turmeric, ashwagandha, and even grapes are believed to have useful properties for soothing and managing pain.
It’s important to be safe and knowledgeable when we use any natural pain reliever or remedy, including whether it may interact badly with another medicine or cause side effects. That said, choosing a natural option when we can is also a powerful step in the direction of reclaiming our connection to the earth in a time of disconnection.
While the modern world may feel like it’s spinning away from nature at an alarming rate, it’s reassuring to know that we’ve held on to some of our ancestors’ knowledge, whether it’s for our own health or the health of the planet.
Want to try some of these natural ingredients?
Try one of our CBD Topicals today!
