Aromatherapy for Arthritis: Let’s
Make Scents of How This Home
Remedy Works
PUBLISHED 01/24/19 BY KARYN REPINSKI
Here’s what you need to know about aromatherapy — the
healing power of smell — to treat arthritis pain.
Many people who have to deal with the many debilitating symptoms of arthritis
— pain, swelling, reduced range of motion, and stiffness — are open to trying
alternative remedies to find relief beyond what their medications can offer.
Indeed, research shows that people with osteoarthritis (OA), the most common
type of arthritis, are more likely to use complementary treatments than those
living with any other chronic condition. And just as there’s evidence supporting
the use of alternative therapies like acupuncture and meditation in treating
arthritis symptoms, science also shows some benefits of incorporating
aromatherapy into your anti-arthritis armamentarium.
What Is Aromatherapy?
If you’re not familiar with aromatherapy, it’s the use of aromatic oils — the
most concentrated extracts from flowers, herbs, trees, and other plants — to
ease physical and emotional ailments. The practice has been around since
ancient times. Though the term aromatherapy wasn’t coined until 1937, the
Egyptians used such oils for medicinal purposes as far back as 2000 B.C.
Today aromatherapy oils, known as essential oils, are incorporated in
massage, added to baths, or breathed in through a nasal inhaler or diffuser.
How Aromatherapy May Help Arthritis Pain
The benefits of essential oils used to be explained as coming from the life
force of a plant, which admittedly sounds a little woo-woo. The reality is that
essential oils contain a slew of compounds — sometimes as many as 300 —
that can have a range of effects on the body. Essential oils directly stimulate
the part of the brain that influences emotions, heart rate, blood pressure, and
respiration, but you don’t even necessarily have to smell the oils to reap their
rewards.
“The term ‘aromatherapy’ is really a misnomer,” says Barb Picciano, a
registered nurse, board-certified holistic nurse, and the former director of the
healing services program at the Cleveland Clinic. “The use of essential oils is
called aromatherapy, but the word doesn’t cover all of the ways they work.”
For instance, when applied topically, rosemary can ease arthritis pain by
helping to numb nerves; when inhaled, rosemary oil’s been shown to have a
stimulatory effect on beta brainwaves that may explain its ability to make you
feel more alert and energized — a plus when dealing with a chronic disease
leaves you feeling drained.
When trying to manage arthritis pain, you’ll want to use something topical,
says Picciano, who’s now the director of education for Natural Options
School of Aromatherapy, the education arm of a company that provides
essential oils to over 120 hospitals in the country. “You’re not going to affect
joint pain with inhalation, but in terms of relaxation, it could be effective.”
Cautions About Using Aromatherapy for Arthritis
Symptoms
As pleasant as essential oils often smell, it’s important to remember that they
can be powerful. Take wintergreen, for example. “It’s a very strong oil,” says
Debbie McElligott, a nurse practitioner at the Center for Wellness and
Integrative Medicine at Northwell Health in Roslyn, New York.
“Many aromatherapy books say never to use it, but in small quantities — just
a few drops — it can be excellent for pain relief.” The concern arises
because wintergreen contains a high quantity of methyl salicylate, a chemical
in the same family as aspirin, hence the moniker “liquid aspirin.”
“If someone spreads wintergreen oil all over themselves, there’s a possibility
for aspirin poisoning,” says McElligott.
Since people with arthritis often take at least one medication, it’s important to
study up — or better yet, consult with a certified aromatherapist — to learn
about how to use aromatherapy safely and avoid any interactions with other
treatments. For instance, wintergreen should be used with caution by anyone
taking blood thinners.
You also need to know how to use the oils properly. Two tips: Only lavender
can be used directly on skin (others need to be mixed into a carrier oil like
jojoba oil or fractionated coconut oil first), and using less is more. Generally
speaking, it you use too much oil you’ll get the opposite effect of what you
want, says Picciano. The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy can
help you find a certified aromatherapist.
Another important caveat: If you choose to use an alternative therapy to help
treat arthritis pain, you need to continue working with members of your health
care team. “Aromatherapy and other holistic modalities are great
complements to Western medicine,” says Picciano. “Though it’s nice to have
complementary things you can do to help other treatments along, you should
still be doing what your physician tells you to do.” Doing otherwise can be
dangerous: Studies show that people with arthritis who completely ignore
traditional medicine in favor of alternative methods find that their health
deteriorates at an alarming rate.
Popular Aromatherapy Picks for Arthritis
Though studies are sometimes small and not always well designed, the
evidence is mounting that essential oils can be good medicine when it comes
to easing symptoms of arthritis. Moreover, chronic pain often leads to other
conditions, such as poor sleep, anxiety, depression, and overall reduction in
quality of life — and research shows aromatherapy can be beneficial for all of
these as well. Some studies have even found that arthritis patients who used
aromatherapy were able to reduce their intake of painkillers while
maintaining or improving their current level of comfort.
Here’s the scoop on some of the most popular essential oils used for
arthritis:
Ginger
Thanks to a substance called gingerol, this herb possesses potent anti-
inflammatory effects. In fact, when researchers compared ginger with
ibuprofen they both showed similar anti-inflammatory activity. This makes
sense, since both block COX-2, the enzyme that produces chemicals that
promote inflammation and pain.
Ginger has been proven effective as a pain reliever in many studies. In one
that included people with OA of the knee, 95 percent of patients treated with
ginger reported a reduction in pain. In another study of people with chronic
knee pain, massage with ginger oil was compared to a massage only and a
treatment-as-usual group. After one week, knee pain and stiffness were
similar among the three groups. At the four-week follow-up, however, the
aromatherapy group reported a reduction in knee pain, as well an
improvement in physical function compared to the control groups.
Peppermint
The power of peppermint is due to menthol — it contains at least 44 percent
free menthol, which produces a sensation of hot or cold that can temporarily
override your ability to feel your arthritis pain.
Wintergreen
A combination of wintergreen oil and peppermint oil is commonly used
because it’s believed to give far better pain relief than either oil alone, note
researchers in a 2014 study published in the Journal of Alternative and
Complementary Medicine. The combination oil may potentiate the individual
effects of each oil, allowing the use of lower doses of each, which is likely to
produce fewer side effects.
Lavender
No fragrance is more associated with good sleep than lavender. The herb
contains at least two compounds, linalool and linalyl acetate, which have
sedative effects. But lavender also seems to help directly with chronic joint
pain. In a study of 90 patients with OA of the knee, the pain severity of the
group that was given massage with lavender essential oil was immediately
and significantly improved compared to the placebo groups.
Eucalyptus
You may know it best from products like Vicks VapoRub, where it acts to
clear your airways. But the oil also contains compounds that act as anti-
inflammatories to reduce swelling and pain. In one study on people with OA
who had knee replacement surgery, inhalation of eucalyptus oil for 30
minutes on three consecutive days following surgery was effective in
decreasing pain.
When Blending Aromatherapy Oils Is Better
Often times, blends of oils are found to be more effective than single oils. For
instance, one of the most promising studies on the use of essential oils to
treat rheumatoid arthritis was published in 2005 by Korean researchers who
evaluated a specific blend containing eucalyptus, lavender, marjoram,
rosemary, and peppermint essential oils in proportions of 2:1:2:1:1 on 40
patients. “Aromatherapy significantly decreased both the pain score and the
depression score of the experimental group compared with the control
group,” reported the researchers. Bonus: The therapy produced no side
effects.
You can mix up your own version of this blend with this recipe from The
Healing Power of Essential Oils by Eric Zielinski, D.C.:
Arthritis Pain-Reducing Ointment
14 drops eucalyptus essential oil
14 drops sweet marjoram essential oil
7 drops lavender essential oil
7 drops peppermint essential oil
7 drops rosemary essential oil
2 ounces almond oil
1 tablespoon jojoba oil
If DIY isn’t your thing, some companies sell products pre-blended for arthritis
relief. For instance, Natural Options Aromatherapy offers its Arthritis Relief
blend of Roman chamomile, rosemary, clove, lavender, ginger, and
wintergreen in a body cream, roll-on, and bath salts.
Tips for Choosing the Best Aromatherapy Products
Use these tips to be sure you’re getting a quality product that’s right for you:
Look for pure oils. The oils should be the only ingredients listed on the
label.
Let cost be your guide. It takes a great deal of work and plant material to
produce a tiny amount of essential oil. For example, 60,000 rose blossoms
are required to produce one ounce of rose oil. The essential oil in the
lavender plant is more abundant, but it still takes 220 pounds to yield one
pound of oil. If the price is really low, you may be getting an oil that’s diluted
with synthetic ingredients.
Patch test. Before purchasing an oil, ask if you can try a small amount on
your skin and watch for a reaction. Some oils contain high concentrations of
sensitizing ingredients, such as linalool in lavender.
