Bursitis is a condition where your joints feel tender or cause pain upon movement. This irritation or inconvenience is due to inflammation in a nearby bursa of your bones which could be a result of sudden jerk movements or an injury.
This painful condition affects the fluid-filled sacs cushioning your muscles or tendons near the bones. Bursitis often occurs in those body parts that perform repetitive or vigorous movements; this could commonly mean knees, heel, hip, etc. By using essential oil for bursitis, you can manage the symptoms of this condition effectively.
Types of Bursitis
- Hip bursitis,
- Posterior Achilles tendon bursitis,
- Knee bursitis,
- Heel bursitis,
- Shoulder bursitis,
- Elbow bursitis
- Anterior Achilles tendon bursitis to name a few
Causes
Various sources can cause bursitis:
- Repetitive, minor impact on a particular area
- Sudden, more severe injury,
- Ageing of tendons,
- Overuse of a specific joint,
- Poor stretching or conditioning before exercise
Symptoms:
Beginning as an unnecessary but consistent pain, the symptoms of bursitis range from an initial dull pain to swelling or redness of the skin around the affected area, it can also cause some tenderness or stiffness in that region.
What is Bursitis?
-
Source:ShutterStock
Bursitis is a common ailment associated with ageing, it increases the chances of the affliction with old age and weakening of joints. It can also develop amongst athletes or labourers, who put excessive pressure of their bones on a daily basis and those who perform repetitive tasks.
The ailment has also been a cause of being overweight, which increases the pressure on your lower body and causing knee or heel bursitis. Several systematic diseases like diabetes, gout or rheumatoid arthritis for instance; can also be the sources of bursitis.
The standard treatments include severely resting the affected area or prescribed medication which can lead to inflammation reduction in a few weeks. However, a lesser known fact is how essential natural or essential oils can be in curing this inflammatory ailment.
[ Read: How to Treat Bursitis Naturally? ]
Essential Oils for Bursitis and How to Use them
For the affected inflammatory tissues or tendons, various essential oils can reduce the wincing pain and discomfort that bursitis causes. These natural extracts primarily help in lessening the swelling and the redness, followed by instilling a cooling effort. Its anti-bacterial components have been known to outsmart painkiller medication, considering the former’s analgesic properties.
1. Eucalyptus oil:
It considered as one of the traditional primary treatments, the application of eucalyptus oil has been proven to reduce pain and inflammation. Containing analgesic properties, this, when combined with ginger and peppermint essences, can reduce the soreness and control pain.
2. Juniper Berry Essential oil:
Juniper carries a mild but penetration scent of forestry fragrance and is known for its immense therapeutic benefits.
Application of this oil and massaging the affected area for a few days will guarantee visible healing results.
3. Spruce Essential oil:
The black spruce essential oil is greatly considered for its anti-inflammatory qualities. This oil helps in the stimulation of cortisone- a hormone produced by the body; and can heal torn tissues or tendons.
This requires application 2 to 3 times a day on the affected area to see quick relief results. Like the eucalyptus, this essential oil also contains analgesic properties.
Rosemary Essential oil:
made from the extracts of the rosemary shrub, this essential oil is known for its refreshing qualities of re-energising worn-out or tired muscles. Massaging the ailed area with few drops of rosemary oil can strengthen the joints and heal the affected sac.
-
Source:ShutterStock Source:ShutterStock
Dos and Don’ts
- Due to the increasing usage of essential oils, there are also some precautionary measures that one must keep while buying and using them to reduce further risk. Ensure that your essential oils have proper certification and are 100 per cent pure and free of adulteration and organic. It is vital to know if there have been synthetic fragrances or other preservative adulterants added to your oil.
- Each essential oil comes with specific safety concerns, and it is imperative that you know those before using them. Some essential oils are phototoxic when the applied skin is exposed to the Sun.; while some have aldehydes that can aggravate your allergies and cause further irritation.
- The utility of essential oils for bursitis is purely for external use and not internal consumption, although many companies have been advocating it. The consumption of these oils can disturb your olfactory sense due to their high volatility.
[ Read: Science-Backed Home Remedies for Bursitis ]
Precautions and Safety Instructions
Although not all forms of bursitis can be prevented, there are risk reduction techniques that will lessen the chances of bursitis. For those of you who are accustomed or required to lift heavy weights or loads during your routine, it is necessary to keep the chances of bursitis in mind.
- Use a wheeled cart of machinery to lift the loads for you.
- Exercising can also help in strengthening your muscles and joints. This also eliminates the risk of obesity or being overweight, both of which are known to exert extreme pressure off your bones causing this inflammatory ailment.
- Even these natural essential oils for bursitis house few side-effects that you have to be conscious about. For instance, increased inhalation of high dosages of essential oils can cause dizziness or even seizures in some rare cases. With existing allergies, it can also cause rashes or irritation.
Other Home Remedies for Bursitis
Apart from the medicated treatments and other precautions, there are also some home remedies that you can make to cope with the bursitis ailment.
- A relief balm- It prepares an ointment for instant relief and to reduce the bursitis inflammation with readily available natural ingredients. Combine a few drops of the eucalyptus essential oil with ginger or wintergreen essential oil and some bees wax and melt them into a semi-liquid state. Transfer it onto a container and refrigerate for an hour. You can use this as a balm or an ointment.
- Choose any carrier oil like coconut oil, and add few drops of juniper berry, ginger and eucalyptus along with few significant drops of lavender and chamomile essential oil. Stir the oils together until they are a perfect blend and use this mixture on the affected area daily to see significant results.
- Aromatic tea has also known to be a therapeutic treatment for bursitis. Take a teaspoon of mullein and skull cap skull, along with few drops of cinnamon, cypress and frankincense essential oils and mix until they are a simple mixture and bring it to boil. Brew the mix for about 7-8 minutes and take it off the stove for it to cool down. Use a swatch of cloth to dip into the mix and gently apply it on the affected area
As we all know, bursitis is a condition that is related to physical activity, however, that doesn’t mean that people with no physical activity could be excluded. There are chances that you may suffer from this condition.
Whether it is a simple exercise or the choice of not doing any, there are chances bursitis could strike. However, instead of using conventional medicine that is laced with side-effects and long term implications. It is strongly recommended that you use the above mentioned essential oils for the best, safe and most effective treatment.
FAQs
1. How long does it take for bursitis to go away?
Acute and chronic bursitis takes a few days to several weeks and in some cases could also be recurrent.
2. Is bursitis a form of arthritis?
No, it is not. Fundamentally, arthritis is the inflammation of the joint, whereas bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa, the sac around the joint that has the fluid for friction reduction.
