Herbs for Pain, part 3

In treating muscle and joint pain I find it helpful to draw from Chinese medicine, which tells us that pain is caused by stagnation, and in the muscles this looks like muscles tightening and spasming shut. Circulation and thus relaxation can be achieved with anti-spasmodics to relax resistance to circulation, or by using circulatory stimulants to bring fresh blood in.

Herbs such as Black Cohosh (Actea racemosa), Kava Kava (Piper methysticum), and Wood Betony (Pedicularis spp.) work by relaxing muscular tension so that fewer pain signals are being sent to the brain. In Chinese medicine this is thought of as relaxing the resistance to the flow of Qi (“energy”) so that energy can flow more smoothly and cause less pain. And really, whatever you can do to relax the body around the pain will help relieve some of the pain. When we tense our bodies, we stimulate more nerve transmission of pain messages. So, breathe into it.

Now Black Cohosh you might think of as an herb for female problems, and it is one of the top ten selling herbs these days for just that reason. But 100 years ago it was a top ten herb for totally different reasons – because it is one of the best herbs for rheumatism, a catch-all word for joint pains. And it is one of the best.

Black Cohosh is special because it affects both the organ muscles like Wild Yam as well as the skeletal muscles like Wood Betony. So it can be used for both menstrual cramps and for whiplash and is an excellent herb for both. I use Black Cohosh to treat menstrual cramps, wry neck, whiplash, rheumatoid arthritis, and frontal headaches, including those from eyestrain. Just be aware that in larger doses it can actually cause headaches as well. It is a strong herb and so I use it in moderation, and should never be used by a pregnant woman without appropriate medical advice.

Wood Betony, on the other hand, works primarily to relax the skeletal muscle so it is a better herb for tight tense muscles that are over-worked or just plain sore. I use it for tension headaches with a tight neck, muscles that are sore and tight from over-use, or hiking a 50-pound backpack up a 10 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail in the first hike of the spring when you're not warmed up yet and the “gentle incline” turns out to be as steep as a mountain goat trail.

There are several massage therapists I know who use Wood Betony for their clients before a session to get particularly tight and tense individuals a jump start on the relaxation process, and there is a chiropractor in Arizona who uses it to relax the back muscles so that an adjustment holds longer because the relaxed muscles take to it better.

When muscle tension is caused by anxiety and stress, I often prefer Kava kava (Piper methysticum), a root from the South Pacific (as if they really need stress relief on Bali). Because the constituents are more alcohol than water soluble, it is often used as a tincture, sometimes in large quantities late at night after an herb conference has wrapped up for the day.

Kava works on GABA receptors, a similar mechanism as Valium, and acts to relax muscles by reducing excess signaling from the brain and central nervous system, so it is one of my choice anti-anxiety agents as well as being excellent for headaches from stress and worry, tense shoulder muscles, or when your back feels like a slab of plywood after driving 12 hours and then hitting rush hour traffic on I-95 in Washington, D.C.

In all these instances, it is the tightness and tension causing the pain, so it is important to also look at other factors that make muscles tight. Folks who have chronic muscle pain can learn specific stretches or yoga poses that can often help, and working on posture can also be very helpful. Those with chronic low back pain often need to strengthen their abdominal muscles to help create balance between opposing muscles groups.

Next time: Circulatory herbs for pain – Arnica, Prickly Ash and Sassafrass