Pain is complex. Many factors can contribute to pain, or worsen it, including the food we eat, the sleep we do or don’t get, and the stresses we experience in our lives. When pain is chronic, we need to think outside the “painkiller” box and think more broadly. This is also the best method of working with herbs for chronic pain conditions. Herbs with anti-inflammatory effects might achieve this by nourishing, improving digestion or circulation, or supporting specific needs in a particular body. To choose the right one for the person in front of you, you need to know their whole context – more than “where does it hurt?”
Moreover, from the perspective of your cells, pain itself is not a single state with a single cause. A sprained wrist may involve tissue swelling, stagnation of fluids, nerve impingement, and of course, inflammation. Awash in this complex context of states, the nerve sends a pain signal to the brain. If all we do is “kill the pain” at the nerve, without correcting any of those other states, the pain will come back as soon as the herb wears off! Instead, we can combine analgesic or anodyne herbs with others that address stagnation, tension, and agitation; addressing both the superficial symptoms and the fundamental causes at once.
All that and more, in this episode!
Herbs discussed include: cayenne, goldenrod, kava, ginger, chamomile, tulsi, kelp, meadowsweet, willow, alder, birch, wild lettuce, passionflower, Jamaican dogwood, clove, & ghost pipe.
As you can see, so much of your success when working with herbs for chronic pain effectively depends on your familiarity with a diverse array of herbs to help you target the specific tissues and states contributing to the pain. So you’ve got to really know your herbs – and our Holistic Herbalism Materia Medica course can help with that! It includes 89 video plant profiles, along with printable monographs and quizzes to check your learning. Plus, you get access to our twice-weekly live Q&A sessions so you can get direct contact with Ryn & Katja. Dive in and get to know these herbs personally!
As always, please subscribe, rate, & review our podcast wherever you listen, so others can find it more easily. Thank you!!
Our theme music is “Wings” by Nicolai Heidlas.
Support the show
You can find all of our online herbalism courses at online.commonwealthherbs.com!
