Pain relieving tea...

Every so often we like to share health tips that we have learned... on the outside chance it might help someone save trial and error time. This is such an occasion.

I have a fairly serious problem at present, with shoulder pain. Sometime in the past, I seem to have torn something inside my right shoulder. We are still working on discovering the underlying cause and heal it, but in the mean time there is.. pain. Lots of it!  That kind of pain that just wrecks your whole day. The deep, never ending, not even pulsing, constant pain deep within the bones. Yep.. nerve pain.

Wanting to stay away from pharmaceuticals as much as possible because of the long term negative effects, I have been experimenting with more natural remedies.. herbs.  Originally I tried the usual run of anti-inflammatories and yes they help... but couldnt touch the intensity of such an intense and constant pain.  I needed something that could knock back more than just by reducing inflammation.

Weeks of trial and error on tinctures, herbs, etc has led me to a recipe for a tea that works wonders for me! Honestly, this tea can knock back 80% of the pain even in bad spells in just 20 to 30 minutes with one to three cups of tea. Sure, it tastes like wet dirt, but hey, it WORKS!


Here is the recipe:

• 4 parts willow bark
• 2 parts meadowsweet flower
• 2 parts meadowsweet leaves / stems
• 2 parts devils claw
• 1 part st johns wort
• 1 part jamaican dogwood bark

I mix these herbs, then use about 3 to 4 teaspoons in a quart of water. simmer for 15 to 30 minutes, then let the tea sit and steep until consumed. (gets stronger over time). My basic dose is a half pint every 4 hours, doubling or tripling as necessary, leaving about 30 minutes between doses to see if more is necessary.

We get these herbs either locally or from Mountain Rose Herbs, and of course all are organic!

I cant explain exactly why it works, you can do your own research, but all ingredients seem necessary. removing any one reduces the effectiveness significantly.  What I learned is that willow and meadowsweet work on the same principle as aspirin, but without the long term negative effects. The st johns wort adds a muscle and nerve calming effect, the devils claw is especially good for nerve type pain like arthritis, and the dog wood is a powerful anti-spasmodic, relaxing muscles that cramp up around intense pain.

This works for me, so its worth sharing. As always with herbs.. your mileage may vary.