I discovered the value of nettles when I had a series of problems with my arms - I had osteoarthritis in my wrists, ulnar nerve impingement and tendinitis in that elbow and a tear in the bicep muscle on the other
since the pain was a little debilitating and for a range of reasons voltaren was not going to cut it I looked for natural remedies. I was looking for pain relief as well as anti inflammatories since my conditions involved both This is what I found:
curcumin - the active component of turmeric- is a powerful anti inflammatory and you can take it as often as you like
nettles are rich sources of valuable phytonutrients and have a long history in folk medicine. Studies show that they can have powerful anti inflammatory benefits. I used to make nettle soup (and in fact yesterday while I was digging up roses from my old garden to save them from possum devastation I also brought home with me two large bags of nettles which will be turned into a variety of soups. I quite like potato and nettle and potato and lettuce. Others don’t but there are plenty of recipes on line If you are lazy you can but nettle tea bags. It can also be used like spinach eg in a quiche or frittata. If you are super brave try it in a smoothie along with apple and ginger. Apparently the mashing of the nettle eliminates the stinging effect. I’ve never tried.
other anti inflammatory foods include dark leafy greens, olive oil and almonds. Btw I haven’t checked but my guess is hemp oil also works. The cheaper by far shop in footscray sells bottles of hemp oil for a reasonable price
an added comment. I subsequently found out that tendon health and inflammation is heavily negatively impacted by stress. If your cortisol levels are high it is likely to worsen your symptoms. Stress is not simply mental stress but overdoing it physically, undergoing food intake and lack of sleep. So you might want to increase activities that improve a sense of calm and make sure you eat well including plenty of phytonutrients which contain vitamin c and calcium rich foods.
Magnesium or lack thereof is heavily implicated in inflammation and calcium absorption improved by vitamin d (well so the theory goes). While I know there is debate about supplements and vitamin d etc I think it is useful.
these days I use oils topically to help. These preparations always include neem oil which is combined with other oils. It is a powerful anti inflammatory.
from being in severe pain the changes in lifestyle - reduction in stress and food changes - mean I am able to use two seven kilogram dumb bells as my daily muscle workout with up to twenty repeats of around five positions and only once has the elbow problem threatened me with its presence in nearly a year of disciplined activity.
