Are you familiar with sore muscles in your life? Sometimes it happens after a workout or strenuous physical activity. Other times, we have neck and muscle pain because of a poor sleep.
Regardless of why our muscles ache, let’s put an end to the pain. Essential oils can help ease muscle tension, swelling, and aching joints.
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I’d like to help you understand the benefits of using natural oils in soothing your sore muscles. There is remedy and relief for your muscular system with essential oils! It doesn’t matter if it’s back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain or general aches anywhere in your body.
Soon, you’ll be able to enjoy the therapeutic and calming effects of essential oils. In this article, you’ll learn which oils to pick, and how to apply them to the affected muscles and joints.
Contents
Top 8 Essential Oils for Sore Muscles
Essential oils are a great way to increase your self-care and pamper yourself every day. With plenty of options to choose from, your day to day self-care routine will never get boring. For sore muscles, use the following essential oils:
Peppermint
Peppermint oil has a therapeutic ingredient called menthol. This active element is relevant in reducing tensions, strains, and pressures in your body. It can offer you immediate relief from muscular and joint pains. It has a stimulating and revitalizing scent. Peppermint oil releases a cooling effect necessary for alleviating muscular aches.
Juniper Berry
Juniper Essential Oil is a great choice for relieving inflammation. You will enjoy the antiseptic and anti-rheumatic properties contained in this beautiful oil. Help keep your body agile, perfumed, and healthy with Juniper oil.
Rosemary
Rosemary is one of nature’s miracle plants. It is rich in antioxidants, making it anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory. It also contains carnosol, an essential ingredient to alleviating inflammation and pain.
Clove
Clove essential oil creates warming sensations within your body. Warmth relieves inflamed tissues. It is capable of reducing tension of your ligaments and joints, and can loosen stressed and tired tissues. The mild anti-neuralgic effects of clove oil help it in sedating the part of the body where the pain is located. This makes you feel less pain, although that feeling may last for a short while only. You need to do a skin patch test before applying Clove oil to your body because it contains Eugenol. This ingredient is capable of causing irritations and a burning sensation. Read more in the precautions here.
Frankincense
Frankincense essential oil is calming to the body, with analgesic and anti-spasmodic properties. It can tranquilize pains and relieve muscle spasms. Most people prefer to use it because of its mellow, well-rounded scent. It is also a good oil for anti-anxiety, periods of stress or panic. If your muscle tensions are related to emotional pain, Frankincense may be a great oil option for you.
Thyme
COX-2 is a substance responsible for muscular soreness and inflammations. By applying thyme oil, you can reduce these effects on the body. Thyme oil contains carvacrol, a substance known for alleviating painful acute and chronic conditions in the body. The oils’ elements are capable of providing you relief from bodily pains.
Turmeric
Organic Turmeric by RMO
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Turmeric oil is often used in arthritis and other rheumatic conditions. It has potent antiviral, antibiotic, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These can inhibit the actions of debilitating enzymes from damaging the bones and muscles.
Lavender
Certified Organic Lavender from Rocky Mountain Oils
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Lavender essential oil has sedative effects, and it can soothe tensions and unnecessary pressures in the muscles. Due to its mild and calm nature, it is perfect for strained, tired, and sore muscles.
Essential Oil Blends for Muscle Soreness
Plant Therapy’s Muscle Aid Synergy Blend
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Many popular essential oil companies have put together their own proprietary muscle-soothing essential oil blends. These blends are ideal for joints and relieving painful muscles.
- Muscle Aid from Plant Therapy (also comes in a roll-on). Costs less than $10.
- Muscle Relief from Edens Garden, also less than $10.
- Muscle Soothe Roll-On from Rocky Mountain Oils, around $15.
- Relief from Simply Earth, less than $15, or in a roll-on.
- Ache Away from REVIVE, their proprietary version of Young Living’s Panaway®. $32 for 10 ml.
The following oils are child safe (age 2+) varieties of sore muscle blends:
- Aches & Pains ($16.95) from Edens Garden for 10 mL, or $14.95 in a roller bottle.
- Grow Ease from Plant Therapy, $19.95 for the blend or $9.95 for the roller bottle.
How to Use Essential Oils for Sore Muscles
There are a few ways to use essential oils in alleviating tired and aching muscles in your body. In short, sore muscles are best treated through massage, a warm steam bath, or a compress.
Massage
The easiest way to get essential oils into your aching tissues is an oil massage.
Massage is the easiest way to get essential oils into your aching tissues. The essential oils penetrate deep into the body tissues. It takes only about 20 minutes before feeling the therapeutic effects of the essences in the body. Massaging also increases the flow of blood to every part of the body, and promotes quick recovery.
Besides, the feelings of physical touch by a gentle hand offers a relieving and healing effect all on its own.
Never use essential oils without diluting them using carrier oils such as fractionated coconut oil. Blend two or more single massage oils together for an enhanced effect.
Notice which parts of your body are stiff, swollen, and painful. Calm the tension by rubbing essential oils onto the areas affected. To avoid skin irritations, don’t overdo it. Use these essential oils specifically for joint pain, arthritis and inflammation.
Steam Bath
Sitting in an essential oils bath is super relaxing!
Warm steam baths are ideal for enhancing healing. Heat helps to stimulate the body and promotes blood circulation. Muscle aches and soreness are really small injuries of the muscle tissues. The increased blood flow brings more oxygen and nutrients to the injured area. It will also help flush out any metabolic waste, and thus alleviate muscles soreness.
In a bath, your skin absorbs the therapeutic qualities of the essential oils. This treatment provokes relief and wellness throughout all parts of your body. For an easy recipe to get started, try this Muscle-Soothing DIY Bath Salts recipe.
Warm or Cold Compress
Use a simple cloth to make a compress.
People use essential oils because they have curative and healing features.
With a warm compress, muscles can relax, and will be well on their way to make the tissues flexible and agile again. Add any essential oil you have chosen onto a fabric cloth and fill a bowl with hot water.
TIP: Use hot water for alleviating aches and pains, or cold water to reduce inflammation.
Side Effects
While essential oils share many properties, each essential oil is still different. Check the chosen essential oil’s label and description first. Some oils are indeed hot to the skin, or need additional caution.
After you’ve looked over the fine prints of the oil you plan to use, follow the recommended dilution rates guide for a proper measurement between carrier oil and essential oil.
If you experience any skin redness, soreness, or itching, stop use immediately. Applying more plain carrier oil can help alleviate the redness. Massage straight-up coconut oil onto the area of redness. Call your health care practitioner if the spot doesn’t get better within 30-60 minutes, or starts to blister. Explain your essential oils use to them in detail.
People with sensitive skin or thinner skin as found in the elderly, use extra precaution and smaller % dilution rates. Essential oils are also not recommended for babies younger than 2 years of age. Find out more about essential oils for kids here.
Final Thoughts
Treating sore muscles with essential oils is a double-duty wellness act. Not only do you get the healing power of the essential oils, you also benefit from receiving the hands-on massage. Or enjoy the space and relaxation of a steaming hot bath, or the soothing feeling of a compress application. Essential oils support your body’s muscle soreness healing process.
I hope your body feels better after these home remedy treatments.
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