Photo by Gemma Chua-Tran on Unsplash
by Amy Fletcher
Around 50 million adults in the U.S. live with chronic pain, with top causes including lower back pain, arthritis, and headaches. Pain is often treated through a combination of medication, lifestyle choices, and pain reducing treatments though sometimes, a fully natural approach is sufficient to significantly improve quality of life. If you are battling one of the most common causes of frequent pain this summer, the following natural approaches may be useful.
Weight Training for Lower Back Pain
If lower back pain is keeping you from the gym, the trick to beating it may actually be opting for regular strength workouts. Scientists at the University of Alberta found that people who took part in a 16-week weights training program using dumbbells, barbells, and other weights, had a 60% improvement in lower back pain. Their results were significantly better than those of study participants who completed aerobic workouts such as jogging or exercising on a treadmill or elliptical machine.
Yoga for Rheumatoid Arthritis
A recent study published in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience has shown that eight weeks of intensive yoga significantly reduces both physical and psychological symptoms experienced by people with rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers found that yoga reduced inflammation and had good preventive and rehabilitative potential. Yoga can also help reduce depression by promoting neuroplasticity. This holistic practise is just one of a handful of holistic activities that have been found to help with pain and mental conditions like anxiety and depression.
Essential Oils for Headaches
The soothing scents that permeate from therapeutic grade essential oils may do more than reduce stress and lift the mood. In some cases they can help ease headaches, as found in a study undertaken by researchers at Iran’s Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. In the study, scientists enrolled 47 people who battled migraines, randomly assigning them to two groups (an essential oil group and a placebo group). The essential oil group applied two to three drops of lavender oil onto their upper lip, inhaling it for 15 minutes then reporting the severity of their headache pain every half hour for a total of two hours. Out of 129 headaches experienced by the study subjects, around 72% responded to the oil therapy. Aromatherapists often recommend lavender and peppermint for tension headaches; a blend of lavender, peppermint, and rose for migraines; frankincense, rosemary, and eucalyptus for sinus headaches; and marjoram, basil, peppermint, and lavender for cluster headaches.
Millions of Americans battle chronic pain. Some of the most frequent issues include lower back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and headaches. There are natural approaches to each of these issues, including strength training, yoga, and essential oils. These approaches are sometimes combined
with medication but they sometimes are sufficient on their own to significantly improve a person’s quality of life.
Further reading:
- Find out more about essential oils that can alleviate headaches.
- Learn more about veganism and headaches.
- Read about weights and lower back pain.
- Learn about yoga and rheumatoid arthritis.
About the Author
Amy Fletcher is a freelance writer and researcher with a keen interest in business management. In recent years she has written for various online magazines, journals, and blogs. When she’s not writing she enjoys long walks with her daughter and two dogs.
