There’s nothing else that makes you feel as old as back pain does. Learn how to say good-bye to immobilizing pain by using 10 powerful essential oils for back pain relief.
Back Pain Can Be Debilitating
Young or old, back pain seems to be the plague of our modern lifestyles. The reason simply being that we spend too much time sitting and too little time moving!
Back pain can be debilitating, can prevent you from even doing simple movements and make you miss work or school. The back is central to the body’s movement, and a pain in the back can very well confine you to bed.
Like many, I’ve experienced chronic back pain, sciatica to be exact. I experienced this pain at a young age, barely 20 years old. I couldn’t believe it! “I’m young, this stuff only happens to old people!” I naively thought.
There’s an ancient Chinese saying that goes, “You are only as young as your spine.”
Well, the way things were going, at a young age of 20, back pain made me feel 80, no exaggeration!
Healing Your Back Naturally
At around the same time, one of my good friends in college also suffered from acute back pain. Being the only child, his parents shuttled him from doctor to doctor in the hopes of finding a magic cure for their only son’s back pain. They finally landed in a top specialist’s office, who promptly advised them to get surgery.
I chose to go the natural route, opting for a 5-day herbal oil treatment. Coupled with 2 weeks of rest, I’m not completely back pain-free. Of course, I still use many natural preventative measures such as sciatica stretches and yoga to make sure I do not ever end up in the pitiful state I once was.
As for my wonderful friend, whom I admire so much, he still suffers with a “bad back”, which the costly surgery was supposed to “fix”. He can’t pick up his kids as often as he wants to and he can’t really engage in sports activities for fear of suddenly upsetting his back. The thing is he still frequently has to go to the doctor for back pain and is often told to go on bed rest while taking heavy pain killing drugs.
Even today, when his back pain gets too bad, he talks about getting another spinal surgery to ‘fix’ the pain. We have told him so many times to try a naturopathic treatment such as therapeutic massage, but he just doesn’t get it! I’m telling you, it’s like God has to open your eyes to the healing world of nature – if he doesn’t, you’re just going to remain blind to it!
Friends, if you are here on this page, trying to heal your back pain naturally, with essential oils, then I applaud you! It takes great courage to stop relying on a doctor all the time and to take responsibility for your OWN health. By taking charge of your own health, by believing in the healing gift of nature; you are half way there to getting a complete cure!
I’m a living example of someone who suffered from debilitating back pain and overcame it naturally, with essential oils. For over 6 months, I consulted with more than 3 doctors and took several scans to figure out what was wrong with my back. I finally gave up and turned to nature to cure me. For more details on my recovery, check out: Essential Oils for Sciatica Pain Relief
It doesn’t matter what type of back pain you have, be it sciatica, lumbago or arthritis – you can get cured! It doesn’t matter if you’ve had surgery or not – you still have hope!
Along with other natural remedies, you can use essential oils for back pain to regain a joyful life again.
Note: It’s always best to get your back pain checked by a health care professional, especially if it is back pain related to trauma (such as an accident) or back pain that comes along with pain in other joints of the body (this may be an indication of serious chronic diseases like fibromyalgia). First consult with at least one doctor before you use essential oils alongside conventional treatment.
Top 10 Essential Oils for Back Pain
Here are the best 15 essential oils for back pain relief, in no particular order. Even if you have just a few of the oils in this list, it’s fine! You can still use them for instant relief and relaxation.
1. Lavender (where to get it)
2. Marjoram (where to get it)
3. Lemongrass (where to get it)
4. Eucalyptus (where to get it)
5. Peppermint (where to get it)
6. Vetiver (where to get it)
7. Ginger (where to get it)
8. Basil (where to get it)
9. Rosemary (where to get it)
10. Frankincense (where to get it)
How Do These Essential Oils Alleviate Back Pain?
You may be wondering, what makes these essential oils different from the rest? What qualities in these top 10 essential oils make them work wonders for back pain?
Well all these essential oils listed above have high amounts of certain compounds such as eugenol, menthol, linalool and others which are recognized as natural pain killers. These compounds present in essential oils help relieve back pain by:
- Promoting efficient blood circulation – Many times you will find that back pain is compounded by poor blood circulation due to bad posture or lack of movement. Essential oils such as ginger can really encourage blood flow to the spine which can help alleviate blockages and pain.
- Stimulating blood flow to the spine – Adding on to the above point, essential oils like lemon grass and eucalyptus contain stimulant properties that help to bolster blood flow to the spine. Blood supplies the spine with nutrients and oxygen that is needed to heal and repair tissues and to reduce pain in the back.
- Suppressing pain signals – Essential oils are rich in analgesic compounds, which work to suppress pain signals and reduce the sensation of pain. Many essential oils such as wintergreen have the same compounds such as methyl salicylate which are found in over-the-counter pain killers like aspirin. Essential oils can help alleviate your back pain naturally, without having to turn to synthetic drugs, which come with side effects.
- Numbing the pain – Menthol is a prime compound in essential oils like eucalyptus and peppermint, which create a tingly feeling when applied on to the skin. This tingly feeling not only helps relieve pain but also helps naturally numb the pain, and distracts you from the acuteness of the pain, helping you to feel relief over time.
- Reducing inflammation – Inflammation and swelling is a common denominator in back pain, although it may not be visible. Excess fluids may leak into the surrounding vertebra and this swelling can contribute severely to back pain. Essential oils like lemongrass contain anti-inflammatory compounds that help reduce inflammation and therefore alleviate back pain.
- Inducing relaxation – Lavender and vetiver are among the essential oils that contain potent yet natural sedative properties that help induce muscle relaxation. They also help reduce mental stress that could have contributed to back pain.
- Preventing muscle spasms – Essential oils are rich in molecules that have anti-spasmodic qualities. This means they can prevent and reduce the muscle spasms around the spine, and reduce the overall pain level.
- Repairing damaged tissues – Antioxidant compounds in essential oils such as rosemary encourage the repair and regeneration of new cells and tissues, consequently allowing the faster healing of the back.
- Preventing free radical damage – With back pain, many will find that the body is struggling with free radical damage. Compounds in essential oils can help the body fight free radicals, which wreak havoc on healthy cells. This can help reduce oxidative stress and encourage faster recovery in back pain.
How to Use Essential Oils for Back Pain?
The best way to use essential oils for back pain relief is deep, therapeutic massage. Getting a professional deep tissue massage by a health care professional who understands the nature of your back pain is the best.
You can also ask a friend to gently massage your back…or better yet, massage your back yourself – this works best for lower back pain such as sciatica nerve pain. To do a self-massage, simply sit comfortably on a stool and apply the massage oil/cream onto your back using one or both hands. Sit erect while you do so. Firmly maneuver your fingers, palms and knuckles over the affected areas and rub the oil in as you do so. A soothing massage like this can be done 3 times a day for quick results.
Now for the massage oil or cream, you can simply add a few drops of any of the above essential oils for back pain to your existing cream. Or, you could make your own natural, preservative-free massage cream as follows.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of coconut oil (where to get it)
- 8 drops of lemongrass oil
- 5 drops of lavender essential oil
- 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 3 drops of ginger oil
- 3 drops of frankincense oil
Directions
- In an 8 oz amber glass jar, measure out and carefully pour all the oils.
- Now screw on the lid securely and shake or swirl the bottle to get all the oils evenly mixed up.
- You can now use this massage oil as suggested above.
Have you had success using essential oils for back pain? Please do share your back pain story with us and which essential oils helped you!