Knee pain can be really troublesome. You go to the doctor repeatedly only to come back with an untreated knee pain. Sometimes even after medications, you still fail to get rid of knee pain. It just gets worse than before. In that case you will have to look for a better alternative to this problem. Castor oil is an effective option for treating knee pain. It is great for getting you relief from many conditions. It is known for its antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. You can use castor oil topically for treating various painful conditions like sciatica, arthritis and back pain. Many people who have suffered from recurring knee injuries and from other painful conditions have sworn by the efficiency of castor oil. If you want to know how effective castor oil is for your knee pain, read on.
How Castor Oil Helps in Relieving Joint Pain?
Castor is considered an effective remedy for joint pains, knee pain and sciatica. All you have to do is to apply it topically and this helps in providing you great relief from the pain caused. Heat castor oil and apply it directly on the knee joint. Leave it on for getting maximum benefits. You can also make a castor oil pack. Here is how you can make the pack and use it to get rid of knee pain.
How to Make Castor Oil Pack?
Ingredients Required:
- Get high quality castor oil. Pale yellow cold-pressed oil is the best you can get.
- A heating pad or a hot water bottle.
- Plastic wrap, plastic sheet, cellophane tape, cling film or an empty bin-liner.
- Three pieces cotton or wool of size 1 square foot. Make sure that the piece is large enough to cover your knee.
- An old towel.
Preparation Method:
- Take the cloth and dip it in hot water.
- Now you have to pour some castor oil on the cloth. You have to make sure that the oil does not drip from the cloth.
- Place the cloth on your sore knee and warp it with the help of a cling film. This helps in holding the cloth in place.
- You can wrap a cellophane paper over it so that the oil does not spill on the bed sheet. You may also use an old towel instead of cellophane paper for preventing the oil from spilling.
- Leave the castor oil wrap on your knee for about 6 to 7 hours.
Using the castor oil wrap for treating knee pain will provide you long lasting relief.
Castor Oil Pack Benefits:
- Castor oil packs usually help in increasing the number of lymphocytes. T-cell is a lymphocyte that can increase cell-mediated immunity. Using the castor oil pack for knee pain helps in increasing the total T-cell count in the body within a time period of 24 hours. Lymphocytes play an important role in defending the body, creating antibodies for toxins and pathogens.
- T-cells are a type of white blood cells, and they have the ability to fight against disease. T-cells have the power to identify and kill bacteria, virus, fungi and in some cases even cancer cells. Castor oil packs help in improving the healing of injuries. One thing to keep in mind is that the castor oil should always be applied to the wound, where the skin is not broken.
- Pharmaceutical organizations have come up recently with a version of castor oil that is less sticky and non-oily. Castiva arthritis pain relief is a lotion that you can use instead of castor oil. It provides you all the benefits of castor oil pack. It is considered to be very effective for knee pain as castor oil is. You can buy it online by logging on to many websites that deal with the sale of such products. You also get it from many pharmacies that store it. Castiva is made from a castor oil base.
- Castiva can be either a cooling or warming formula. Capsaicin is an active component of chillies that lends them their hot flavor. The warming formula in capsaicin has been used for ages for the treatment of joint pain. Combining capsaicin with castor oil is an excellent way to get relief from knee pain.
The cooling lotion of castiva is as effective as the warming lotion, but it has a different chemical composition. It contains methyl salicylate/menthol. Menthol is a good cooling agent. When it is combined with castor oil, it forms castiva cooling lotion. You can purchase it online. It is a little more expensive than the warming lotion. Recent research on castor oil has helped in determining the effectiveness of castor oil for treating knee joint pain.
It is also suggested that you can take castor oil orally to treat joint pain, especially knee pain. You can take it in the following way:
- Consider using castor oil for oral use after consulting your doctor. Add one tablespoon of castor oil to any beverage, like herbal tea or freshly made juice, and consume it. You can also take in castor oil capsule supplements. This is a good alternative for those who dislike the taste of castor oil.
- For severe arthritis, you can add a pinch of ginger powder to boiled water and then cool the concoction. Now add two tablespoons of castor oil to the concoction and mix well. Drinking this in the morning or in the evening will give you best results.
Castor oil is used for treating a number of diseases. So, always store castor oil in your house. If your knees are giving you trouble, just apply castor oil and soon you will get relief form he pain.