Pain Nerve and Muscle

Neuralgia can also result from repeated use of a particular nerve or muscle group. An example of this is the infamous carpal tunnel syndrome, in which a nerve in your wrist becomes compressed, causing great pain in the wrist and hand. This syndrome is fairly common in office clerks, writers and others who spend most of each day typing, and in carpenters who spend their days pounding nails. You can also develop compressed nerves by continuously leaning on your elbow or crossing your legs all the time.

Degeneration of the nerve fibers themselves, which is most common in elderly people, also leads to constant pain. And certain diseases, such as herpes and the closely related shingles, cause painful skin eruptions that break out along the nerves. The herbal treatments I suggest for nerve pain can be used to treat these disorders as well as to relieve the symptoms of nerve degeneration resulting from diabetes and nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS), in which the protective sheath that surrounds the nerves is partially destroyed. While there is no known cure for either of these disorders, I have certainly seen herbs improve the quality of life of people who suffer from them.

None of the available herbs offers the significant pain relief given by prescription drugs. (Granted, there are some pretty strong painkillers derived from plants, such as morphine from opium poppies, but these are available only by prescription.) Unlike heavy-duty prescription drugs, however, the herbs mentioned here help heal your nervous system instead of only suppressing the pain. And they don't dull the senses and are not addictive, as are many of today's popular prescription painkillers.

There are actually many herbs that can help relieve pain, and not all of them work the same way. Saint-John's-wort and vervain are nervous system relaxants that help you recover when your nerves are damaged, inflamed or strained.

Vervain is a bushy plant that has been used medicinally for thousands of years, but has fallen from favor in modern times. Still, some herbalists swear by its aspirin-like effects in relieving minor pain and reducing inflammation. Vervain is also considered a nerve tonic, especially when used constantly over several weeks?it improves the general action of the nerves and makes the system healthier. (It is also rumored to be a mild antidepressant, which may be one reason it used to be called "simpler's joy.") I find it works best when mixed with other nerve tonics.

Every spring, the hills around my home are covered with two excellent nervous system toners: California poppy and oats. Both of these herbs are available as ingredients in formulas and occasionally as individual tinctures.

All of these nervous system herbs help relieve pain. They can be useful in treating pain brought on by sciatica, herpes, shingles and carpal tunnel syndrome. These herbs can be taken internally as tinctures or pills. Saint-John's-wort can be used externally along with essential oils that reduce inflammation, such as chamomile, marjoram and lavender.

I know firsthand the benefits of such herbs. A few years ago, while writing my herb encyclopedia, I began experiencing nerve problems in my shoulders, arms and wrists. Sometimes problems like this creep up on you slowly when you are busy, and it takes something fairly dramatic to make you realize how dire things have become. For me, that day came when my wrists hurt so badly that I was unable to turn the doorknob to get into my house. It was obvious that something had to be done, and quickly.

I had given up my massage practice and my pastime of playing the recorder because of the pain. In fact, I could barely finish typing the encyclopedia. The next thing I knew, I was wearing wrist braces, even at the wedding of my friends David and Diana. I did several things to cure myself and spare myself from impending surgery (which is not always successful). At David and Diana's wedding reception, I got a gentle lecture from David, who is also an herbalist, about practicing what I preach. The next day, I adopted an aggressive natural healing program that began with a visit to an excellent osteopath (whom I met at the wedding!) and a not-so-gentle lecture about the importance of herbs and exercise and reducing my stress level over deadlines. Then I started getting regular massages with relaxing aromatherapy oils and using herbs inside and out. I took the Nerve Pain Tincture (see below) with an extra dose of Saint-John's-wort. I also slathered liberal amounts of Saint-John's Strain and Sprain Oil (see chapter 100) on my wrists throughout the day. It paid off, although it took months before I was back to normal. As I sit here typing these words, I am thankful for the herbs?and the people?that allow me to be pain-free today without surgery.

While I am on the subject, I must also tell you about my friend Mary, since her story is slightly different. She came over to my house one day to pick up some facial cream I had made for her. As we walked back to the car, I could not help noticing that she was having difficulty walking. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that she had sharp pains in her leg and hip and that these pains had been worsening for months. Now it was to the point where she could not even sit comfortably at the sewing machine to make her quilts or go out for walks. "You know how much I like to take walks," she said. "I cannot even make it up the hill to the top of our driveway anymore." She said that she felt like she was 90 instead of a spry mid-fifties. Guessing that Mary might have some nerve trauma that could benefit from herbal treatments, I sent her home with a tincture that I had made using Saint-John's-wort combined with the muscle relaxants valerian, hops, passionflower, chamomile and catnip.

Over the next few weeks, I received a series of phone calls from Mary, each one more excited, as her hip and leg got better every day. In one call, she gleefully announced, "Guess what? My headaches have also disappeared!" And in another, "Now I have no more PMS!"

The herbs ended up fixing all sorts of nerve-related problems that Mary had stoically never mentioned, at least until they were gone. That was years ago, but Mary has not stopped talking about her herbal success. Her enthusiasm is so strong that she has adopted herbalism as part of her life, and she and her husband, son, daughter, grandson and niece have all benefited from taking herbs for a number of different problems.

That this kind of pain relief is possible with herbs has not gone entirely unnoticed by the drug companies. The compound capsaicin, from cayenne, has been used as the basis for a number of over-the-counter creams for external use on painful skin problems such as diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), facial neuralgia, psoriasis and post-surgical pain. A 1991 study showed that capsaicin also reduced pain and tenderness in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Capsaicin is used experimentally in some U.S. hospitals to reduce pain after a breast or limb has been removed. Clinical trials have shown that about 75 percent of the people with the painful condition called shingles experience substantial pain relief when they apply a capsaicin cream. For most people, this required applying the cream about four times a day for a month. A burning sensation is reported only occasionally, and becomes less of a problem the more the cream is used.

Herbs have also proved helpful in treating muscle spasms. Valerian, skullcap and cramp bark sedate the nervous system and also stop tight muscles from going into spasm. Other helpful agents include the same compounds that color berries and grapes red and deep purple. These compounds also calm and sedate the nervous system. You can get these substances, called anthocyanidins, by eating plenty of the fruit or buying the fruit-derived extracts in capsules sold in natural food stores.

In one study, a grape extract was found to reduce pain, nerve sensitivity, prickly skin and leg cramps at night?this is because of the anthocyanidins it contains.

Nerve Pain Tincture

1 teaspoon each tinctures of Saint-John's-wort flowering tops, skullcap leaves, fresh oats and licorice root

½ dropperful each tinctures of ginger rhizome and vervain leaves

Combine ingredients. Take 1 dropperful every half hour, as needed during an emergency. To relieve chronic pain, take 2 to 4 dropperfuls a day.