The benefits of aromatherapy for pain vary from person to person, but they usually include temporary pain relief as well as overall relaxation and improved outlook. If effective, aromatherapy can reduce the need for chemical pain killers or pharmaceutical solutions to discomfort. Aromatherapy for pain is all-natural and presents no side effects or risks for the majority of people.
Much of how humans experience pain is neurological. Pain is felt in parts of the body where there is injury or pressure, then is communicated to the brain through a series of nerve synapses. Aromatherapy for pain attempts to use essential oils to block pain receptors in the brain. The effect is usually only temporary and works more for some people than for others. In most cases, the pain relief is paired with a more general sense of relaxation, which often leads to a cheerier overall outlook.
Aromatherapy treatments tend to have only scant backing in science, whether for pain or anything else. Just the same, aromatherapy for pain is embraced by a range of holistic medicine practitioners, as well as doctors looking for natural, generally risk-free remedies for pain. People may also find that certain scents or oils lessen pain somewhat by accident, be it through the application of certain lotions or the exposure to oil diffusers or scented massages.
Almost any essential oil can have pain relieving effects, but the most popular aromatherapy oils for pain management are lavender, chamomile, and eucalyptus. Lavender and chamomile are well renowned for their relaxation properties, and eucalyptus is usually associated with energy. Brief exposure to one or all of these scents has reportedly relieved pain in a number of sufferers.
Direct application is usually regarded as the best way to reap the benefits of aromatherapy for pain. People usually apply several small dabs of the oil onto their pulse points at the height of their pain. The temples and the inside of the wrists are some of the most popular places, as here the oil can be both absorbed and smelled. Essential oil massage is also a popular means of aromatherapy for pain, which has the added benefit of muscle tension release.
Breathing in the oils may also lead to some pain relief benefits. Oil diffusers are the most common means of scent delivery, but scented lotions, bath gels, and bathing salts sometimes prove effective, as well. Exposure usually needs to be concentrated enough that the brain registers the oils’ healing benefits, but not so long that the effect wears off. Most people find aromatherapy for pain most effective in short bursts, which prevents the body from acclimating to the scent’s presence.
When aromatherapy oils work for pain, patients can often avoid harsher medications. Some of the most common uses of aromatherapy for pain are in cases of chronic pain management, where patients are already taking a number of different drugs. Pain killers can often exacerbate patients’ conditions, which makes natural remedies like essential oil all the more desirable. Oils are also beneficial for minor pain, like headache or muscle cramps, that may not warrant pharmaceutical help but are nonetheless uncomfortable.
