Aromatherapy for Sprains
Nick Ferrari explains how Aromatherapy can help with healing Sprains.
A sprain happens when either one or multiple ligaments stretch or get torn. It is usually a direct result of too much force being placed on a joint. A lot of the time this occurs during athletic activity, but it can be the direct result of something as innocent as slipping on ice.
Your joints feature strong bands of tissue surrounding them. They are known as connective tissue, and they are your ligaments. The elasticity of the ligaments is what allows you to move.
Some of the most common areas where you can experience sprains are around your knees, wrists, toes, ankles, and thumbs.
Various symptoms could occur when you suffer a sprain which include:
- Paint surrounding the impacted joint
- Swelling throughout the area
- Bruising throughout the affected area
- Tenderness
- The inability to put weight on the impacted joint
You may experience a lot of swelling from a sprain almost immediately after the injury occurs. However, typically bruising is not going to show up right away. The area may not bruise at all. Bruising may even arise far away from where the injury occurred as the blood from the tissue that was damaged may stray away to different muscles before coming to the surface of the skin.
Luckily, a lot of sprains are relatively common and minor injuries that can be treated with proper rest and elevation.
That being said, you still want to visit your doctor if you think that you experienced a sprain to get medical guidance, especially if:
- The pain is extreme
- You cannot move the affected joint
- You cannot weight-bear
- You are unable to use the affected joint
- The area looks unusual due to swelling
- You are experiencing numbness throughout the area
You want to expedite your visit to a doctor if you are experiencing any of these things. It means that you have suffered a much more severe sprain that should get medical attention. It could even imply that you have another injury to go along with the sprain, which could include a fracture.
If you do not have any of the matching symptoms above and your doctor approves of it, you may be able to utilize Aromatherapy in your treatment of your sprain.
Here is a thorough list of the different essential oils that you may find to be effective at helping reduce the symptoms of a sprain:
- Chamomile: Reduces inflammation
- Cypress: Antispasmodic
- Eucalyptus: Analgesic
- Lavender: Reduces inflammation
- Sweet Marjoram: Analgesic
- Rosemary: Boost circulation
- Vetivert: Increases circulation
- Geranium: Reduces inflammation
If the affected area remains inflamed, you are going to want to use the essential oils along with a cold compress. Around six drops of the essential oil in a bowl of cold water with ice. Allow a piece of cloth to soak in the water and wring out the cloth. From there, you can place the cold compress covering the impacted area. You will want to leave it there until the sprained area feels better. Alternatively, visit Kumi for diffuser jewellery.
You will even be able to alternate between cold and hot compresses if you think it would help. Hot and cold therapy can work very well for healing a sprain. You should be alternating every 2 to 3 minutes for the best results.
As soon as the swelling has gone down, you will want to consider integrating aromatic baths into your routine. You can do this by placing as many as eight drops of essential oil into around three tablespoons of Dead Sea Salt. From there, you will be able to pour it into a warm bath. Then, you can soak your body in the bath for as many as 20 minutes which can help boost your healing efforts. If you can stomach the pain, you can even take an ice bath which is going to be even more effective at decreasing inflammation and boosting circulation.
You also can soak your feet if it is your foot that was sprained. To do this, dilute five drops of essential oil into salt and pour it into a bowl of warm/hot water. You can then soak your feet for up to 10 minutes. You can also use an icy footbath if you are looking for immediate relief after suffering an injury. Cold applications work better the sooner you can use them after suffering the injury.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- FERRARI, N. (2020) Aromatherapy for Sprains [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article591.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Nick Ferrari has written extensively on dieting and is a big advocate of keto, which he has researched and used extensively.