Every single person in the world understands that pain management is complicated. Dealing with pain is difficult, especially since painkiller side effects will never be great. At the same time, we are faced with the possibility of getting addicted to drugs. Using homeopathic medicine is something that has to be considered. Arnica is an example of pain management alternative medication that has been around for ages. Does it work? This is what we have to research.
Arnica is a flower that grows in Siberia and Europe’s mountains. You will hear about it under the popular name “mountain daisy”. Nowadays, many ointments and creams are made with the addition of the flower’s head and are used to treat joint pain, bruising, soreness, aches, inflammation and swelling. We see arnica used in a major scenario.
Arnica For Surgery And Bruising
Arnica is really often used in order to treat various bruises. Because of this, it is really popular for those that went through surgery. We see creams and ointments with arnica often prescribed to patients that underwent plastic surgery. Although there is not much scientific research that was done in the past, patients do say that gels and topical creams were useful in the past. Arnica was shown to boost the body’s capability to heal its skin.
Research Brings Mixed Results
Some studies were conducted and the big problem is that we had some mixed results. There was a study that showed the use of topical arnica cream to have the same result as ibuprofen when talking with people that suffer from hand osteoarthritis. There was also another study that showed gel arnica treating knee osteoarthritis. However, there was also a study that showed an increase in leg pain for people that had knee pain problems.
Precautions Are Necessary
One of the most important things that you have to remember about using arnica for pain management is that you should not take it orally. According to the US FDA, arnica is not safe to ingest. You will rarely see the substances used under an ingested form. The important thing to remember here is that taking too much arnica orally would lead towards serious health problems. Medical supervision is highly necessary when taking pills and the arnica dose included will be heavily diluted.
When referring to using arnica on skin that is broken for a long period of time, irritation can be caused. Also, if you are a woman that is breastfeeding or pregnant, you should never take anything with arnica without medical supervision.
It is possible to have hypersensitivity or an allergic reaction to the arnica pain medication treatment. If you notice an allergic reaction or the area becomes sensitive, you want to stop using the medication. The same applies to the entire Asteraceae family, including dahlias, daisies, sunflowers, marigolds and dandelions.
Conclusions
On the whole, it is really important that you are careful. There is not enough scientific proof that shows us that arnica is effective but there is proof that it can help with pain management. Because of this, you want to be sure that you always take such medication while under the supervision of a doctor.