Natural DIY Pain Cream for Chronic Joint and Muscle Pain

*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and I am not giving medical advice in this post. I am simply sharing my journey with chronic pain, and the natural, DIY salve that's helped me with my joint and muscle pain. Always consult your doctor if you are unsure about proper treatment. 

* This post contains affiliate links. 

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Post Updated with More Info on March 2023

I wrote this post in 2018. At this point, I was struggling immensely with chronic pain and basically living off of ibuprofen. The DIY pain cream recipe below definitely helps for a short time, and if you like using essential oils, I still recommend this method. However, since I wrote the original post, I have found something that has helped me far more than the pain cream.

Personally, I take Plexus Ease, which is a natural anti-inflammatory pill derived from the green lipped mussels in New Zealand. I no longer live off of ibuprofen. In fact, I almost never take Ibuprofen (or similar) for hip pain. I only take my daily dose of Plexus Ease. Technically, I can sell Plexus, so if you are interested, you can use my referral link to check out the products (search Plexus Ease) or if you have questions you can reach out at contact@thepeculiartreasureblog.com with the subject line "Plexus". 

HOWEVER, Plexus is expensive. So, if you'd like to try out green lipped mussel for your chronic pain and inflammation, here's an amazon listing for green lipped mussel that has good reviews. I haven't tried that particular one, but I definitely recommend using green lipped mussel for inflammation! I am not being dramatic when I say it has drastically improved the quality of my life!

Now on to the original post! PS - I no longer use Young Living. They do sell quality products but I don't like their philosophy.

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When I was in high school, I played basketball. It was my favorite thing to do with my time and I was totally convinced I was going to play in college. But an injury I had had for a long while was getting worse, and at 18 years old, it was becoming clear that my body was already tired of all the practices and games. I had already been diagnosed with arthritis, bursitis, and tendinitis in my left hip, and things weren't getting any easier as I also had bursts of pain from my sciatic nerve.

Flash forward 9 years, and here we are. I don't talk a lot about my pain on the blog, and honestly, I never even knew I fit into the "chronic pain" category until a year or two ago. But it's true that I do, in fact, fit in there. There are days where I can't work on my blog because I cannot sit without pain. Those days don't come very often, and I am thankful, but they are still frustrating, especially since those days could show up at any time.

Twice in the last 4 years, my hip and back have completely locked up, rendering me bedridden. I had to be helped to the bathroom, and I couldn't just go into the kitchen to grab food if my husband was at work. It's miserable, painful, and a huge pain in the butt.

Fortunately, most of the time my pain is manageable. I am able to go for walks and do other fun things as long as I pace myself. I take a few Ibuprofen most days, and that's enough to ward off the major pain. About once a year, I get a steroid shot which helps too.

Overall, I'm truly, honestly fine. But there are days when I just don't want to take Ibuprofen because I don't want to take too many for my body to process. And there are days when I did take Ibuprofen, but it doesn't work as well. On those days, I need something more to help me get through. And recently, I learned how to make my own, natural pain salve for joint and muscle pain. Is it a cure-all? No. But is it a nice relief that helps me manage pain? Absolutely!

I love modern medicine, and I think it has done wonders, but I also really appreciate any time I don't have to use an excess of it. And since I already take Ibuprofen frequently, I wanted to use something for my hip that was completely natural whenever possible.

Since my friend was selling essential oils and I was enjoying using them periodically, I decided to try mixing the oils into a pain salve. It was really simple and quick to do, and the salve goes a long way.

Ingredients

A GLASS jar (do not use plastic as it will mess up the essential oils)

1.5 Cups Coconut Oil (NOT the liquid, cooking kind)

15 Drops Peppermint Oil

15 Drops Lavender Oil

10 Drops Lemongrass Oil (optional)

*Lemongrass does add an extra boost of help with pain, but I'm not going to lie. I add it to the mix because it makes it smell like Fruit Loops 😁

Directions

Put coconut oil and essential oils into a glass bowl. Use a fork to whip together until smooth. This takes about three minutes at most. Make sure you are not using plastic in any of this process as plastic breaks down the oils and messes them up. Once everything is mixed together, add it to your glass jar and store in a cool, dark space.

Application

This pain cream goes a long way. On my hip, I use the equivalent of two quarters in size, but that covers my hip and part of my lower back (and I am not the smallest person in the world. haha). So, to start, use about a quarter-sized (or smaller) dab of cream and rub really well into the area where the pain is. Use when needed. Give your body a day or so of using the oils. Sometimes there is an adjustment period.

If you are dealing with chronic pain, you might want to try this natural salve. It won't make everything magically right, but I do find it helpful for pain-management. Again, consult your doctor with any questions you may have. I am not a doctor, I just know what has helped me.

And if you do not have chronic pain, but you are someone who has sore-muscles from your workouts or your job, this salve could also benefit you.


What methods do you use to deal with pain? Comment below.