Essential Oils for Chronic Pain

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Essential oils may help ease chronic pain by addressing it at the root.

Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting more than 12 weeks (roughly three months). Chronic pain is different than acute (short-term) pain because it typically arises from an initial injury or illness but then doesn’t subside, rather causing ongoing symptoms for many months or years.

Chronic pain can include:

• Muscular pains

• Back pain

• Neck pain

• Joint pain and arthritis

• Nerve pain, including tingling and jolting

• Bone pain

• Headaches/migraines

• Uterine pain/endometriosis

• Inflammatory bowel pains and other forms of stomach pain or digestive discomfort

Chronic Pain Symptoms

Chronic pain can present as physical and mental and emotional symptoms, including:

• Increased risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts

• Discomfort that is sharp or dull, constant or on-and-off or feels like burning or aching

• Restrictions in mobility and daily activities

• Reduced flexibility, strength and stamina

• Increased anxiety, depression, irritability and other mood changes

• Higher risk for dependence on alcohol, opioids and other pain-killing medications

• Poor perceived health or reduced quality of life

• Fatigue and sleep disturbances

• Changes in appetite and sometimes weight loss/weight gain

• Low libido

• Higher risk for marital or family problems and loss of employment

How Fascia Contributes to Chronic Pain

Fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue that surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fiber and muscle in place. The tissue does more than provide internal structure; fascia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as skin to pain signals.

Maintaining healthy fascia is crucial for ensuring smooth and pain-free movement of your tissues and organs.

When fascia is healthy, it’s flexible, hydrated, and allows smooth, smooth and pain-free gliding movement of your tissues and organs

Your fascia wraps around your muscles to prevent friction during movement. Likewise, your fascia coats your veins and arteries to reduce any abrasion from smooth muscles that power your circulation. And your fascia also encapsulates your fragile organs to enable fluid, non-abrasive shifts in position as you move.

Fascia is made up of multiple layers with liquid in between called hyaluronan that help your fascia stretch with your movement. But when it’s stressed—by trauma, inflammation, surgery, repetitive movements, or even emotional tension – the hyaluronan can dry up, thicken and become tight, sticky, and rigid, especially around your muscles. This can limit mobility and cause painful knots to develop.

Dysfunctional fascia contributes to chronic pain through:

Restricted movement: When fascia loses its flexibility, it can create “sticky” adhesions that restrict muscles and joints, leading to stiffness and reduced mobility and unnatural movement patterns. Over time, this strain can cause pain in muscles, joints, and even nerves.

Compromised Blood and Lymph Flow: Fascia congestion limits circulation and drainage. This can lead to tissue inflammation, toxin accumulation, and nutrient deprivation, perpetuating pain and preventing healing.

Stored Emotional and Physical Trauma: Fascia doesn’t just hold physical structure—it’s also a storehouse for unprocessed memories and trauma. Chronic stress and unresolved emotions can create physical tension in the fascia, which may manifest as physical symptoms like chronic pain or tension. When you experiences emotional stress or trauma, your fascia can tighten and constrict, leading to limited range of motion, stiffness, and a feeling of being on edge.

Nerve compression: Fascia contains sensory nerves, and when it becomes constricted, the restrictions and adhesions can directly press on these nerves, contributing to pain and sensitivity. According to “An Emerging Perspective on the Role of Fascia in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome” fascia “is richly innervated and contains numerous mechanoreceptors and free nerve endings, making it a significant player in proprioception and pain sensation.”

Trigger points: Healthy fascia allows muscles to glide smoothly, but when it becomes tight, it can develop hypersensitive knots called trigger points. These points can cause significant pain and trigger referred pain in other areas of the body.

Structural and functional issues: Fascia provides structural support, but when it becomes dysfunctional, it can cause a cascade of problems, creating a supportive framework that perpetuates poor posture and movement patterns.

Inflammation and fluid transport: Fascial restrictions can impede the flow of lymph and blood, contributing to inflammation and a buildup of waste products, which can further increase pain sensitivity.

Certain essential oils can help manage inflammation and pain by delivering active compounds that calm immune responses, reduce swelling, and block pain signals.

Essential oils are derived from plants and contain powerful compounds that can help alleviate pain and promote relaxation. For example, research on “Essential Oils and Neuropathic Pain” found that “essential oil active components have direct anti-neuropathic activity and modulate pain signaling.”

More specifically, essential oils contain natural anti-inflammatory compounds that can reduce pain by inhibiting pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines in the body, which reduces swelling and pressure on nerves.

Essential oils also work as analgesics, which means they relieve pain, relax muscles, reduce inflammation, and calm your nerves when topically applied. For example, Menthol in peppermint essential oi creates a cooling sensation, while compounds in wintergreen act like aspirin to dull pain. Research on “Analgesic Potential of Essential Oils” highlights that monoterpenes present in certain essential oils – such as menthol, linalool, limonene, myrcene and 1,8-cineole include analgesic-like activity.”

The chemical composition of essential oils – super small and fat-soluble—allows them to bind to and inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (the process that creates/signals pain and inflammation). This is the same channel by which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) work. This might be one reason that essential oils consistently test as effective as over-the-counter pain medications, and pharmacological and clinical studies have demonstrated the profile of essential oil compounds as drug candidates.

Topically applied essential oils can easily penetrate layers of the skin, helping to release restricted fascia, creating warmth to break up congestion, increasing circulation, lymphatic drainage, and mobilizing adhered or painful tissue. Essential oils can also help to vasodilate your blood and lymphatic vessels, which may help improve the flow of fluid that can contribute to swelling and inflammation. Essential oils may also help release facial adhesions, improve circulation, stimulate healthy lymphatic flow, and support the regulation of your nervous system.

Essential oils soften the myofascial tissue, allowing the deep and constrained tissue to stretch and move as it is designed to function. They also have an analgesic effect, relaxing the muscles and reducing pain. Essential oils can be used to revitalize and de-stress the fascia and muscles, working quickly to break down inflamed, fibrous tissue and remove toxins from the painful area.

As you may know, your experience of pain can be triggered by pain receptors—a group of sensory neurons with specialized nerve endings in your skin, deep tissues, like muscles and joints, and most of your organs—which send a message via nerve fibers to your spinal cord and brain stem and then onto your brain where the sensation of pain is registered and pain is perceived. The chemical constituents of essential oils can help modulate your perception and experience of pain.

In addition, smelling essential oils—through your olfactory channel—can also help modulate the perception of pain. Research on “The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy in Reducing Pain” suggest that “olfactory stimulation related to aromatherapy can result in immediate reduction in pain, as well as changing physiological parameters such as pulse, blood pressure, skin temperature, and brain activity.”

Fascia Release for Chronic Pain

The Fascia Release™ blend helps relieve pain, improve flexibility and mobility by helping to unravel deeply held tensions, constrictions and release adhesions, fascial restriction that impede movement and energetic blockages in your tissues. . Fascia Release™ also helps to increase circulation and lymph flow which helps to move fluid out of the tissues of the organs, muscles, tendons, bones and joints and consequently, decrease swelling and improve mobility and flexibility.

As you know, fascia lies just below the skin so topically applying essential oils onto the skin allows for easy and immediate access to the fascia. The skin is your largest organ and is relatively permeable to fat-soluble substances like essential oils.

Topical supplements play an important role in supporting fascia health and recovery from inflammation. For example, essential oils easily penetrate layers of restricted fascia, creating warmth to break up congestion, increasing circulation, lymphatic drainage and mobilizing adhered tissue.

Essential oils can be used to revitalize and de-stress the fascia and muscles, working quickly to break down inflamed, fibrous tissue, removing toxins from the painful area.

Essential oils help with collagen production by reducing free-radical damage. The antioxidant properties of essential oils may also promote collagen growth by both reducing free radicals and increasing collagen cell growth and formation.

Essential oils with detoxing properties help reduce inflammation that may weaken collagen fibers.

The essential oils in the Fascia Release™ blend is uniquely formulated to unravel deeply held tensions, constrictions and energetic blockages in your tissues to reduce pain, improve blood and lymphatic circulation and release fear, repressed emotions, and tension held in the body (organs, muscles, tendons, bones and joints) or the mind.

Penetrating essential oils, such as the combination of Angelica Root, Black Pepper, Cypress, Elemi, Frankincense, Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Vetiver, Litsea Cubeba, Rosemary and Ylang Ylang work synergistically to create warmth to break up congestion while relaxing tissues and releasing constriction and congestion and improving mobility and flexibility.

For example, Rosemary oil possesses analgesic properties and can improve circulation, by creating a warming effect which helps increase blood flow to the affected area, aiding to reduce various types of pain, particularly muscle soreness.

Similarly, Lavender oil is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Studies show it can help reduce the perception of pain.

READ THIS NEXT: Essential Oils for Fascia Release

Parasympathetic®

The autonomic nervous system plays a crucial role in your experience of pain.

Your Parasympathetic nervous system dampens pain signals. Your Sympathetic “Fight-or-Flight” branch of your nervous system – which is activated by stress, including the stress of acute pain – can conduct pain signals or heighten other nerve activity, leading to tension and increased sensitivity. The experience of pain diminishes the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system which further amplifies and heightens the experience of pain and inflammation.

Research on “Neuroinflammation and Central Sensitization in Chronic and Widespread Pain” found that “Dysregulated sympathetic activity can also cause persistent vasoconstriction, leading to reduced blood flow, tissue hypoxia and the development of fibrosis in the fascia and surrounding tissue. These structural changes contribute to a vicious cycle of pain (activating nociceptive pathways, perpetuating pain, inflammation and fascial dysfunction).”

One of the most well-known essential oils for pain relief is clove oil, contained in the Parasympathetic® blend. Clove has been used throughout history to relieve pain. For example, the strong local anesthetic effect of clove oil has been used in dental practices for centuries to numb the gums, teeth, and nerves and relieve pain, such as toothaches.

Clove oil makes an ideal natural pain-killer due to its anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and analgesic properties. It can be applied topically to warm muscles and increase circulation, which helps reduce pain and ease tension in sore muscles and sprains.

What’s more, clove’s high eugenol content is thought to block nerve signals that send the message of pain from the body to the brain, thus giving the user a break from pain. Studies suggest that eugenol may exert analgesic effects via the capsaicin receptor and high-voltage-activated calcium channel inhibition. Parasympathetic® oil can be used to reduce the body’s inflammatory response (Read More HERE).

Similarly, the warming characteristic of clove oil is thought to provide numbing relief from pain, and the antioxidants found in this oil assist in the protection of body cells. Further, a rat study conducted by the Journal of Planta Medica discovered that a chemical compound present in clove essential oil was successful at recovering nerve functions of rats with diabetic neuropathy.

Additional Essential Oils to Support Chronic Pain

Nerve Repair™

Thirty-one pairs of nerves are rooted in the spinal cord, which can cause radiating pain downward or outward. Fortunately, the Nerve Repair™blend may help repair damaged nerves, relieve pain, stimulate circulation, ease inflammation, and regenerate new cells.

Nerve Repair™ is formulated from organic and/or wild-crafted essential oils known for relieving pain and repairing and regenerating damaged nerve cells and connective tissue. For example, basil essential oil is a known nerve tonic, characterized by its analgesic, antidepressant, antispasmodic, and balancing properties. Deemed a divine plant by Hindus in India, basil is a significant ingredient in the treatments used to combat nerve pain and nerve damage.

In a research study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Basil oil was found to be particularly helpful in reducing nerve damage symptoms and increasing nerve receptivity. Simultaneously beneficial in calming nerve pain and offering stimulation to nerves, it is regularly used to treat skin conditions, indigestion, stress levels, blood circulation issues, respiratory problems, and certain infections. It also helps repair connective tissue.

Peppermint™ essential oils are known to possess analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-spasmodic properties that relieve aches, pain, and inflammation as well as calm the spasms that cause muscle cramps, making it an ideal natural treatment for nerve pain. A 2002 study attributed Peppermint™ oil’s dramatic analgesic influence to the relief of neuropathic pain in a 76-year-old woman.

Peppermint™ contains menthol, a cooling phenol that has powerful pain-blocking, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic properties. Menthol naturally warms the skin and muscles to improve circulation in the area of numbness or discomfort. This enhanced blood circulation stimulates the nerves and helps to heal damaged and injured nerves. Although other mints have a cooling analgesic effect, peppermint has by far the highest concentration. Peppermint™ can be purchased as both a single oil and as part of the Nerve Repair™ blend.

Renowned for its pain-relieving properties and ability to accelerate healing, Helichrysum™ helps to strengthen the nervous system, relieving nerve pain while regenerating and healing damaged nerves. Known for its antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, and mild sedative properties, Helichrysum™ has been used historically as a treatment for muscle spasms, decreasing nerve pain, helping repair connective tissue, and reducing swelling and inflammation both inside and outside the body.

You can even apply Helichrysum™ oil directly to an injury to reduce muscle pain and prevent bruising.

The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology found that the pain-relieving power of helichrysum works by reducing inflammatory enzymes and reducing swelling. As it helps rebuild cells, it may be beneficial in nerve regeneration following injury or in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, shingles, nerve pain related to burns, and even hearing damage caused by nerves. We sell Helichrysum™ as both a single oil (my mother swears by it) and as part of our Nerve Repair™ blend. As we only work with the highest quality oil from Corsica, our single oil is very costly.

Frankincense™: Known for its anti-inflammatory and sedative properties, Frankincense™ has been shown to improve accurate transmission and communication of messages between the nerves and the brain. Incorrect messages to the brain’s limbic system can result in nerve pain, so improving the accuracy of signals can eliminate pain. Frankincense also helps modulate the immune system and relax muscles.

A 2023 Evaluation of the effectiveness of topical oily solution containing frankincense extract in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis found that topically applied Frankincense essential oil could “decrease pain severity and improve the function in patients with knee OA.” Additional research suggests that frankincense may play a role in inhibiting specific pain pathways.