Christmas spices help ease stiff joints - the natural way
14/12/2009
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Christmas is for playing with grandchildren and entertaining family and friends at home. So the last thing you need is painful joints curtailing your fun and reducing your energy levels.
But a successful solution for painful joint is not necessarily found in a bottle of painkillers; in fact two ingredients found traditionally in the kitchen at Christmas could do as much for easing the pain of stiff joints as they could for flavouring food.
Two ancient spices traditionally associated with Christmas, Boswellia Serrata (Frankincense) and Commiphora Molmol (Myrrh), have been found in combination to be as successful at reducing pain and inflammation caused by arthritis than conventional pain killers or NSAID’s.
The two spices, which have been formulated into a unique cream for Skin Shop, have a long medical history of relieving the inflammation associated with rheumatic and osteopathic forms of arthritis as well as other forms of joint inflammation and pain.
There have been over 20 published scientific studies carried out in India and China on these two ingredients in the last 15 years for the treatment of arthritis and other joint inflammation conditions.
The first UK trial using this unique combination of spices was carried out by Dr Robert Jacobs, a GP from Devon on 30 of his arthritic patients, who says it’s the first time he’s come across the use of the spices in Europe for the specific treatment of joint inflammation.
Dr Jacobs says: “Both myself and my wife are arthritis sufferers and have been trying the Boswellia & Commiphora cream for several weeks and have found it to be as good, if not better, than conventional painkillers.
“In my limited experience of ‘no-drug’ arthritis creams, such as tiger balm that is very popular, this cream appears to be significantly more effective for the treatment of joint inflammation. I am surprised these spices have not been used already in a cream as their anti-inflammatory effects are well established and extensively researched elsewhere in the world.”
In addition a subsequent larger trial on 80 patients was carried out on Boswellia & Commiphora cream by UK GP Dr Donald Grant. It concluded that the cream had a statistically significant effect both on the pain and stiffness caused by arthritis. Of those on the trial 83% stated that they felt the cream helped them with their arthritis and that they would continue to use it.
Boswellia & Commiphora cream costs £9.99* (100ml). Call: 0844 700 9975 or visit the website linked below.
* Mature Times readers ordering online can claim a special 10% discount on Boswellia & Commiphora cream by using the media code MT210 when ordering.
Boswellia & Commiphora in action
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Yvonne Hutt runs a cleaning business with her husband Lindsay, in Dartford, Kent.
Running our own business while also being an avid gardener and keen dog walker means that I am usually a very active person. I have never been someone to sit around, I’d always rather be on my feet doing something and with three grandchildren too, Christmas as a really busy time for me.
But about a year and half ago I began to develop pain in my right knee, which over the period of 3-4 months spread to my foot. At first I just ignored the nagging pain in my knee. At the time when the pain began I was walking the dogs for about an hour a day as well as tending the garden.
Within about two months of the pain starting I could only walk for about ten minutes with the dogs and even that was at a hobble. I was dreading Christmas when all the family was coming to visit. How would I cope?
In desperation I saw a doctor about what was going on. I hate going to the doctors and try to avoid it at all costs but I felt I owed it to the dogs to get myself better again so they could get their exercise and I wanted to be back on my feet for Christmas.
When my GP told me he thought I had arthritis I was shocked, I thought I’d just pulled a muscle.
I accepted the doctor’s offer of a pain killing injection into my knee, even though I am terrified of injections. The pain went almost instantly and for a few weeks I felt like my old self again. But soon the pain returned but I had hated the first injection so much I didn’t want a second one so I was prescribed painkilling tablets instead.
I began taking the tablets and within a week I felt giddy and sick and not at all well. I’ve never been one for taking pills, preferring healthy diet and exercise to keep me well.
So despite the pain I decided to come off the pills and see what else I could find that might help me manage the pain in my knee, which I knew would not be going away.
I first read about Boswellia & Commiphora cream in a newspaper last autumn. I read an interview with a lady who had found great pain relief through using the cream, so I decided to get my husband to order me some from the internet.
I had never tried any natural creams or tablets in my life. The cream arrived and within a week of applying it I noticed about a 40% reduction in pain and swelling in my knee and foot. Within two weeks I could walk for about 20 minutes with the dogs and going up and down stairs was no longer agony. It made last Christmas a total success as I was able to rush around after the family without feeling weighed down by pain.
In the New Year I went on a dream walking holiday to America with my husband and one day I walked for several hours without feeling much more than a twinge in my knee.
I’m delighted with the results from using the cream. I know my arthritis is maybe not as bad as some people’s but before I used it I was in pain every day and it was limiting the things I could do in my life. But no sooner had I found a solution to my pain, I had the concerning news that my daughter, Alison, was also developing painful joints - so I decided to order her a pot of the cream too!