Heal Aching Muscles with Kitchen Essentials
Your muscles go through a lot each day. Here are some ideas on how you can relieve aching muscles with some simple home remedies.
Aching muscles can result from taking up that exercise regimen after a break. Spring cleaning can give you a crick in your back. The grind of daily life can take its toll on you and the result can be aching muscles that prevent you from carrying out your regular activities. Before you pop painkillers or other over-the-counter medication, here are some simple hacks that will provide soothing relief without chemicals flooding your system.
For starters, staying hydrated and including minerals such as magnesium (found in bananas, almonds, legumes and brown rice) and calcium in your daily diet is a good idea in order to avoid the onset of muscle pain. Getting adequate rest also goes a long way in recovering from aches and pains. But if you do have some aches, here’s what you can do:
Blow hot, blow cold:
- Apply cold packs over the affected area to constrict blood vessels and reduce blood flow to the affected area. This will reduce the pain and lessen inflammation.
- Use heat to your advantage by soaking the sore area in hot water mixed with some Epsom salts. Repeating the procedure a few times will help in relieving pain. However, this must be done only 24 hours after the onset of pain.
Remedies from your kitchen
Spices used in the kitchen such as ginger and turmeric are also great remedies to combat aches.
- Turmeric is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties and works as an effective pain-killer too. Turmeric can be consumed orally by drinking milk mixed with the potent powder for quick internal healing. It can also be used externally by making a poultice of turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt which can be applied to the affected area twice a day till your muscles are rid of the pain.
- Ginger also can be either consumed or applied externally to improve blood flow and relieve muscle pain.
Sweet solutions
- Cherries, particularly tart cherries, are rich in anti-oxidants and help in relaxation of muscles especially after exercise routines.
- Blueberries can be eaten or drunk as yummy smoothies before and after workout sessions to decrease oxidative stress and inflammation.
- Apple cider vinegar has alkalizing and anti-inflammatory properties which help reduce pain and inflammation. It can be either mixed with water and honey to be consumed orally or added to lukewarm bath water to soak in.
Essential oils
Essential oils are a part of every household’s kitchen stock. Whether you use it in soothing drinks or to provide relief from a nasty headache or cold, they can come in quite handy. So too, in soothing aching muscles.
Essential oils such as chamomile, lavender, sage and frankincense are soothing and can be applied externally by blending it with carrier oils such as jojoba oil. Such blends can be massaged onto the skin that is warm after a bath. Adding a few drops of these essential oils to warm bath water and soaking in it helps in improving mobility and even in controlling muscle spasms.
These are some simple ways in which you can give yourself relief from aching muscles. Of course, these should be done as soon as you feel the onset of pain, in order to give you the best results. So, the next time a muscle aches, head to your kitchen, before you head to your pharmacy.
