Effective Natural Remedies for Muscle Health and Recovery

When we were house hunting in Iran, over 30 years ago, a host offered us a refreshing cold drink on a hot summer day. It was delicious. We found out it was diluted vinegar. Now that I'm trying to get rid of muscle pain, I'm drinking apple cider vinegar but I prepare it the way the Persians do: 2 teaspoons acv, 1 teaspoon honey, and a spring of fresh mint. Add 8 - 10 ounces cold water and give it a stir. Wonderful!

What's surprising me is that the muscles are responding rapidly. I've only drunk it for 4 or 5 days and there's already a noticeable difference. Thought it would take 6 months!

For decades my wife has taken 5 or 6 400iu Vitamin E tablets before doing unaccustomed exercise, moving, extra gardening, etc. with no stiffness or aches after. If she forgets to take them she has all the normal problems that follow these actions. She then has to take two to three times the dosage several time to get rid of the aches. For some reason I am one of the lucky ones and rarely have any aches following an unaccustomed exercise but the vitamin E works well for her.

i've found a great way to relieve sore muscles in my neck and shoulders!

you just take a cotton sock and put some raw rice in it - and sew or tie off the other end - then put it either in the freezer for cold packs or in the microwave for a couple of minutes for warm moist heat packs.

then you drape it around your neck! works great!

of course you can also use flax seeds, buckwheat seeds, etc. - but as most people have rice around - this is easy to make in a hurry!

corn works too!

enjoy!

This post is a few years old but I was in a yoga class where the instructor had us in a deep cow type stretch. She pushed 'gently' downward on my back and there it went. Could hardly walk or sit, lower back muscles cinching. At time it felt like my legs were giving out and had to borrow a friend's cane for support. Found a wonderful chiropractor who didn't perform the usual manipulations but gentle stretches, drop table and the activator. In 2 treatments, I'm 95% better. It took 3 days to get on his schedule but in the meantime I applied DMSO (2/3 DMSO:1/3 distilled water) and it was a lifesaver. Since, it's also helped in our household with a tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, arthritic knee.

I messed my shoulder up bad to the point I could barely move it. I got on here and I soaked a wash cloth with avc and put it on my shoulder with in minutes it took my pain away. Thank u earth clinic.com and the reviews.. I recommend it if ur muscles hurt or u pulled it. I can't get over how much it helped me out.

My deepest sympathy for the loss of your beloved father. Never blame yourself for the gross injuries and deaths going unpunished from errors made by doctors as well as huge profits from toxic prescriptions. Research, and you will find that more than 500,000 patients die every year from medical error and prescriptions drugs.

Your gut feeling was diluted and negated by the brainwashing of our society by so-called authority figures and "expert" status of doctors and other medical specialists virtue signaling their 'trust me' knowledge. Ask any one of them what they learned in medical school about nutrition, and they will say about one chapter from one book.

Current example: NY governor Como, killing thousands of healthy elders by dumping them in nursing homes where many suffer from severely compromised health. He wore it as a badge of honor and said, "...We did a beautiful thing in those hospitals..."

Pray for others who will unwittingly will fall prey to these quacks.

I have heard all of my life about using Epsom Salts to relieve muscle soreness. Well, last night I got the box out that had been under my sink for 8 years and hardly used. I got a stepper for Christmas and finally used it for a half an hour 1-6-12. I knew I would be very sore from ankles to hips from being out of shape, so I filled the tub with very warm water, put in about 2 cups of Epsom salts and soaked for 15 minutes. I didn't use any soap, I only soaked in the water with Epsom Salts. Afterwards, I took a warm shower to wash my hair, etc. This morning I was so amazed that I was barely sore! I had more soreness on my upper chest and shoulders (where the soak bath didn't reach), than I did on my feet or legs. I also felt very relaxed after my soak last night. I have a problem with insomnia, but I went to bed and slept about 9 1/2 hours and that never happens.

I am totally sold on using Epsom salts for muscle soreness, relaxation and insomnia. And to think I had that box of Epsom Salt under my bathroom sink for almost a decade and could have been using it all along for many purposes. 2012 will be a much easier and healthier year for me with this "new", cheap remedy.

For everyone suffering with any type of muscle or joints pain, muscle strain, bruises, contusions - this is an amazing recipe:

2 liters of absolute alcohol (from the chemist)
1 big brunch of Arnica
2 avocado seeds, grated
50g of cloves
50g of black pepper
10 Camphor tablets

-Put everything in a glass jar with a lid and let it rest for at least 4 days. Then move the liquid [only to little bottles. Try to place them in different locations (safe & away from kids), so you can remember to apply several times a day. You must apply the remedy on the affected area AT LEAST 5 times a day. The success of the treatment depends on your own discipline and consistency. I know many success stories of family and friends that used this remedy and got hid of problems that doctors or physiotherapists couldn't help. It's been a blessing in the life of many people. Be persistent and good luck!

PS. The recipe is from South America and I have no idea how easy/difficult is to find the ingredients in other countries. I am sorry I am unable to advise on any substitutions.

Re: Side Effects From Statins for Muscle Issues

My husband was having the very same problem with the statin drugs and then we found the perfect solution at the health food store. Here is what he takes:

1. red yeast rice--2 per day
2. COQ10--1 per day

The doctor can't believe how good his cholesterol stays now. He said for him to keep up what he was doing. He had never seen anything like it.

Good luck,
Carolyn

I take potassium supplements every so often because I do so much martial arts training and my muscles are often severely fatigued. I find I am less tired the day after an intense workout when I take a potassium supplement along with a Calcium/Magnesium/Phosphorous liquid combo. I also take potassium when I am sick as it dries up excess mucus in the body. I have low blood pressure to begin with so I have to be careful not to overdo the potassium supplementation! I can tell it lowers my blood pressure somewhat.

Dear Fran....I am not Ted, but wanted to throw this idea at you. Look up nightshade plants On a search engine like google. Stop eating all nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc.) for thirty days...that is the test. if this is your problem, you will know it, probably within a week. I do know that if I eat a lot of tomatoes and potatoes....I get horrid fatigue and body aches.

If you google "nightshade plants, symptoms" and read about this...you might just want to give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck!

As far as muscle pain goes watch out if you are taking statins. They block an essential enzyme produced in the liver for muscles. Fifty per cent of those prescribed them have to stop taking them due to this. But sometimes as the pain comes on sometimes months after taking them they are misdiagnosed as another ailment. Some doctors are saying that statins do nothing except make the sellers a lot of money.

Hello HKaren528

You have progressive right back lower muscle pain extending upward over time...

I like all the different suggestions but let me give you another possible one ... well two. If you have not had muscle pain around the body before and assuming your leg muscle strength demonstrates there is no MS or MD issue... My HUNCH is your pelvis is out. Low back right pelvis can emanate upward and pinch the dorsal nerves causing stiffness or spasms up the side of the back. Or if not the pelvis out, there may be some bulging or pinching in the dorsal and that could be causing the same. Stiffness can be a form of spasming. By spasming I don't necessarily mean contractions and release. A spasm can be simply a hardening or tightening.

Here's a test to see if perhaps the vertebrae sublaxation might be causing the muscle tightening.

Lie on your stomach. Have someone who has some upper body strength to press against your beltline (pelvis) with about forty pounds of pressure. As he pushes (basically holding the pelvis as firmly down as he can without pushing through you).... Put your hands under your shoulders and as if you were doing a push up, push gently letting the lower back (vertebrae) come upward while the pelvis is in place. That first push should be just five or six inches and then after staying in that up position and getting used to the pressure, again press upward another inch or two.

Let your helper hold and you hold that posture for fifteen seconds. Repeat if you can. It really feels great for a bad back that is pelvis related tilted to one side.

If you feel some real lower back pain in the pelvis as he is pushing and as you lift up, then it is likely that your problem is a vertebrae curvature/ pinching/spasm issue.

This exercise daily for a week, if you suspect that the lower back might be the cause, should bring substantial release of the muscle spasm within that week. You should not sit on "cushy" couches which cause you to slouch or in cars with little back support.

The point is: You may have this low back problem and never put together the spasm of back muscles but the two might be directly related.

Someone familiar with pressure point therapy could use pressure points to tell in five minutes if the two are related. If you are not familiar with pressure point therapy, the helper, while you are on floor face down, takes his finger and presses gently at first into the area from which pain seems to radiate. I am guessing that the stressed muscle on right back are sore but one place is far more sore than anywhere. Now find that spot, trace the pain, usually along a nerve line. Usually that pain traces to a rib and or vertebrae. Then the helper could press for 30 seconds at about ten pounds of pressure and let up. Repeat twenty minutes later and I've found that the intense pain has reduced by half. Upon finding the "source" you could apply any moisture application topically for further relief. Just discussed on Earth Clinic is the use of cabbage leaf! Or any oil that is known for its healing qualities could be rubbed into the tender area.

Now those were two physiological approaches rather than a nutritional one. (The two are not mutually exclusive, but the relation of back muscle to vertebrae and or rib dislocation and pelvis shift is very very very common.)

One last long shot.... You have a kidney stone. Really this is possible. Sometimes a ks will cause lower right or lower left numb like pain, as if a rib is out. And then instead of turning acute, continues to radiate and as it radiates the muscle is subject to spasm. My favorite remedy is glass of putrefied water with juice of half lemon. Do that twelve times in one day... Total 6 lemons. Repeat for 12 days. Stone should pass in five to ten days. I've gotten rid of four stones in past six years or so. Oh, brush teeth after each glass so citric acid won't harm your teeth.

Lin,

The way you described that you are taking the liquid magnesium chloride, it sounds like you may be taking it orally? If that is correct, you might have better luck using it topically if what you have is a 50% magnesium chloride solution or less. If it is stronger than a 50% solution, you may have to dilute it or just get or make your own mag oil to 50% magnesium chloride flakes to 50% distilled water. I just applied a 50% solution to my face to make sure it is doable and it seems to be fine. Do not get near the eyes!

Art

Muscles... 60 years old... I perspire when working.... Over a 3 years heavy outside work... The muscles on both legs starting burning, until I could not walk upstairs, in fact, I had to pull myself up to our second floor. I have been taking blackstrap molasses for 1 year... 1 Tablespoon in a coffee cup of hot water. I am now back to 60% of total muscle contol... I feel that I could be 1 more year. I will add this to my diet.

Hi, I have spent alot of time over the past 5 years or so with painful spasms. Walking was bad but when the pain was at my knees I thought it was joint pain and though there was a growing pain in the joint it could be helped with a warm massage. My feet could be eased with a vibrating foot bath. To me it seemed how could it be arthritis if a massage could help, so I searched for lots of supplements and tried quite a few with a little or no help.

My research led me to the problems that were hard to test without help. I further researched the help of the simple household additives namely sodium bicarbonate. After taking half a heaped teaspoonfull of sodium bicarbonate in in half a pint of water on an empty stomach morning and night relief was immediate. My spasms are greately reduced and I can feel my knees getting better every day. I stopped and checked and the problem returned, it then improved with the sodium bicarbonate.

I do think I have a candida overgrowth and that is getting better as well.

I am posting because of all the hunting around I had to do to use a substance with little if any side effects but great benefits.

I saw that as my research went on that more people want to help by selling you something that cost the earth and may eventually give a benefit.

My research cost next to nothing and if it does not work straight away I ask you to keep it up for at least 6 months. I saw relief after a few hours but kept getting relapses until long term relief vindicated by determination that I was on the right track.

The bicarbonate of soda seems to be helping ME attacking the candida and putting my body into an alkaline state to repair itself. No extreme diets or medication I do realise foods that effect me and avoid them but not forever and take note of what my body tells me.

I feel sure there are others out there who see researech costing billions be it for cancer or a dozen different conditions with no relief. Yet to alkalise the body as I have can kill cancer or so I am led to believe yet has little or no side effect and you can administer it to yourself and still seek help.

Long term effects on the body of over acidity or high candida are not recognised or admitted because they are to cheap to treat and conspiracy theories abound. The simple fact is that the care system does not encourage self diagnosis it is too cheap, the system works by long term treatment not cure.

The body heals, not a doctor (they give the assistance in extreme circumstances). Given the right conditions we are amazing creatures, we just need to find the balance out of the over indulgence of our social order.

comments would be appreciated to understand how I have found a simple cheap treatment that works for ME.

I add dried lavender buds to mine which provides wonderful aromatherapy. I have also used peppermint leaves, orange rind, lemon rinds, rose petals. Just be sure that whatever you add to your sock is dry. Also, I have used cotton balls with essential oils that I mix in with the rice. There are many, many options. In addition to the rice socks, I make rice packs using small towels. I get the small, white cleaning towels that come bundled by the dozen. I sew 2 together to form a sack. Then, I sew the sack into "tubes". I pack the tubes with rice,then sew the top. These are great for your back! I also made some of these for my horse by sewing together 2 beach towels- 1 was left intact, the other was cut open in the middle to form pockets that I can slide the rice packs into. I then drape it across her back, shoulders, neck... works great!

Hi from Anita, My first impressions are quite favorable. I have been into Holistic solutions for several conditions I have. It would be nice if people would be more specific in dosage amounts and if the remedy is meant to be taken orally or applied to the skin,etc.

The use of ACV with honey is great, but a note of caution for those with borderline diabeties and diabetics due to the sugar in the honey, especially if you don't monitor your sugar levels regularly.

I have had great success with alleviating muscle pain (like after a workout, strenuous activitiy.) Before going to bed take a warm bath and add ACV to the water. Use at least 1 cup and for severe soreness use 3. When you wake up in the morning you will feel great. This tip was passed on to me by a coach who had her team at the start of a new season do this every night after practice. I messed up once by using white vinegar and she informed me only ACV works. Give it a try! Thanks for all the unique remedies. Anita

For the last 3 years nothing worked to fix my neck spasm. Reason of spasm, most probably, is a combination of stress and heavy physical activity. Tried Botox, muscle relaxant, tons of other injections, chiropractic, acupuncture, tons of other therapies but none worked. What helped are prayers and exercise and physical fixtures I invented by my self and sleeping on the side that my head tilt toward. Among the fixtures I invented are:

1. I used my pant belt to hold a pound or so of weight lifting disc and the other belt side was made round the diameter of my head. When placed on my head was back to normal position. This needs repetition for reprogramming your muscles. Also make sure your forehead blood not stagnating by frequently removing the belt, rubbing your affected area to re-circulate blood and put the belt back on head.

2. I used shower towel and pant belt. Twist the towel until tight, wrap it on your head and hold the lose two ends by hand then remove the towel while still twisted. Now use the pant belt to make a knot and hold the towel to diameter of your upper head. Push belt slightly inward and re-insert on top of your head. It worked like magic for me by removing some pain, fixing my head straight, and gave me feeling of more relaxed head.

3. Use olive oil or Emu oil to rub your neck 3 times a day.

4. Do lots of neck exercises, but need to consult your physician. Not all physicians will give you the proper exercise, some times you have to invent them or accidentally discover them on your own. I invented my own exercises that really worked like miracle for me.

Doctors will not give you the solution to this problem 99% of times, only 1% of times doctors "may" give you the cure. You must be your own doctor to solve your own problems.

Now if you want to publish my invention or mass produce it then remember that I published them here on Dec. 25, 2007. I also have been using them for over a year and saw good results. I hope that you will not be miss-guided by doctors, because it is painful to lose time and money in doctor's pockets without seeing any results my dentist (also did TMJ work for me but didn't work) was stunned when he saw the amazing results.

I have been taking vco for approximately two weeks now, at about 2-3 tablespoons a day, both in cooking, and melted like butter on foods. I have had severe muscle pain of unknown origin (probably fibromyalgia) for years. The Q-Ray bracelet helped enormously for a few years, but recently I have had a lot of pain. On day three of my taking the oil, my pain was all but gone, a recurrent cyst had disappeared, and my energy/stamina was phenomenal. I had suffered from very low energy for years, and take thyroxin. I now am "addicted" to the stuff, and would recommend it to anyone with these symptoms.

I have taken the ACV Baking Soda treatment. I was told this by my acupuncturist for my muscle pain. I had started a walking program but I was experiencing muscle pain when I sit too long or stand. It has helped that but it has also kept my weight down. Since not be able to walk like I was. I am going to start back walking or some form of exercise 30 minutes a day. I am glad taking 1 month off has not made me gain any of the weight back.