Herbs That Can Knock Out Pain

Pain is the leading reason that people end up turning to natural remedies. This may be 
out of a need to find something they may already have in their home. It may be a 
financial need because the prescription medicine is too costly or the combined doctor 
visit and prescription is too costly. It may also be due to the avoidance of putting 
chemicals into the body and wanting a simple natural tried and true solution to their 
pain. Regardless of the reason, the key aspect of pain and natural medicine is to find an 
herb that is readily available or easy to grow and has high potency equal to that of over 
the counter pain medications. Here are four of herbal options that fit all of those criteria. 

White Willow Bark

White willow bark is an easy to find herbal supplement both online and in local stores. 
This herb is usually found in a ground up brown colored powder.  It can be found in 
most health food stores in the form of a capsule or as a powder that can be used in 
teas, tinctures, and vegan capsules. You can also add it to foods and drinks. White 
willow bark is actually the base for what lead to some of the most popular and widely 
used pain medications on the market today. When you buy this herb to help your pain, 
you need to consider the potency of the herb. For example, a powdered commercially 
processed herb may not have the potency of a tincture of the same herb. If you want the 
most potency for your pain, go with a tincture that can be absorbed quickly. You also 
want one that is not mixed with other herbs as this may reduce the potency of the white 
willow bark, which is actually for the pain and not a filler.

Valerian Root

When people hear the term valerian root, they generally think of sleep. The truth is, 
valerian root can be used for a variety of pain including body aches and headaches that 
are caused by stress and inflammation. Valerian root should be taken on its own in the 
form of a tea or tincture when it is being used as a form of pain management or pain 
reducer. If you are using it at night for pain that occurs overnight or for overnight 
inflammation, then you will need to use a capsule form. The capsule is not just to help 
deliver the root easily to the body. It also helps to form a time release of sorts to 
increase the potency of the root over a longer period of time. 

Capsaicin

Heat is often used as an application for topical pain. For example, if you have sore 
muscles or bruising that is causing pain then heat packs and applying heat may help. 
This helps to reduce the pain in the area and helps the muscles in the surrounding area 
to relax. One way to get natural heat to the area for a longer period of time than heat 
packs can provide is to use capsaicin. This is the very thing that gives peppers their 
heat. Keep in mind, if you are using capsaicin for heat, you will need to use a carrier for 
it. Even in over the counter versions of this herbal treatment, the capsaicin is mixed with 
different carriers to reduce the heat and chance of burning the skin. One popular 
method of using capsaicin is to mix it into a salve and apply it to the infected area, 
allowing the heat to work until it has worn off. 

Clove

You can’t mention pain and herbal pain management without touching on face and 
mouth pain. One of the easiest to find sources of oral pain relief is clove. You can either 
use whole cloves that have been ground up in an herb or coffee grinder and then 
applied to the infected area, cloves that have been placed in a tincture, or clove oil. The 
clove is applied directly to the infected area and will numb the area for several minutes 
to several hours depending on the potency of the clove. Keep in mind, clove can burn 
so you will need a carrier oil of some kind. Coconut oil and olive oil are the most 
common carrier methods. 

These are just a few of the most common herbs for pain. You can find most in whole 
forms or dried forms at herbal shops in your local area. If you find these methods work 
for you, you can buy them in larger amounts and store them or create your own 
tinctures for later use. 
