Natural Remedies for Bursitis: Hip, Shoulder and Knee Pain

I've had left hip bursitis (very painful) since March 2015 and the doctors have not helped at all. 2 different doctors, 2 MRI's, 1 x-ray and a lot of another pills including pain pills that only take the edge off and it is going worse. So last night I did the castor oil pack and took the ACV with Blackstrap molasses and I also used them both today and the pain is 70% better. I also bought fresh ginger root, peeled it, cut it into chunks and put it in a gallon water jug and drink it a few times a day. I will continue this and I will definitely keep everyone undated on my progress. So far so good.

This cure worked for me and I hope I can help someone else. The method is called alternating heat/ice therapy. I suffered for 2 weeks with this awful pain in my right shoulder. I was finally told by a friend what it was. I had never even heard of bursitis before. He said he had it once and the dr gave him a shot of cortisone. After doing some research, I was not going to a Dr. for that. But, on the 3rd week, I could not rotate my shoulder enough to get dressed. I tried heat and cold packs. It hurt so much I was taking 800mg ibuprofen 6 times a day. That's every 4hrs. on the dot. It would wake me up at night when I needed another dose.

Finally i read about this alternating heat and cold therapy. Apparently there are a lot of different ways to do it. Basically, you place ice on the affected area for 10min. and then switch to heat for 5min. You keep alternating back and forth for an hour or even longer if you want. The idea is to create a pump within your joint/muscles. Cold pushes blood out and heat pulls it in. Allowing the infection inflmation to be pumped right out of the joint. This made sense to me. So, I got started.

I honestly didn't keep track of time... when it felt like it was aching from too much cold (5-10min.) I would swap to heat until it felt nice and relaxed. Then switch back to cold. Important thing to remember: always end with cold. You want to remove the inflamation at the end. I used ice packs wrapped in towels and an electric heating pad. I would do this for up to 2hrs a night watching tv or reading before bed. Every morning it felt better... so, I kept doing it. After 4-5days, my shoulder was almost completely healed. I had some minor pain when over extending the range of motion. Like reaching high above my head (eg. reaching for a dish on the top shelf). But, within a few days that was gone. I suffered miserably for 3 weeks... and in only a few days this relieved it. I'm sure it would've only taken 1 or 2 treatements to cure this if I started sooner. Anyway, It's been about a month, and no pain still.

Can you imagine how powerful this technique would be with the right herbal remedies? Combining this with a natural antibiotic/anti-inflamatory would be great. Unfortunately, I had no idea what to take so heat/ice was all i used.

I had Bursitis in my right elbow it was the size of a golf ball,

I drank 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 teaspoon of honey in water.

Once in the morning and once before bedtime and in 10 days the ball under my elbow was gone. For the 10 days I was taking this mixture I did rub the ball under my elbow for 20 seconds twice a day. No oil was used.

ACV definitely worked for me. I have bursitis in my left shoulder could not sleep at nights. Tried different rubs not much relief. However started taking ACV with water in the morning and night and did see a dramatic change. Can do some yoga and the shoulder is almost back to normal. I also find that the ACV is working for weight loss as well which is an added bonus!

I have no history of bursitis or anything like it, although I have a right shoulder ball and socket joint that has always been able to dislocate, so maybe some structural problems there.

Anyway, a couple months back I started practicing kung fu and qi gong more intensively than in the past (like 2 hours a day). Right shoulder started getting sore enough so I couldn't lie on it at night (turns out to be a standard sign of bursitis).

Finally one day it started getting really inflamed and the pain just getting worse. Worst pain I ever experienced for a solid week. Couldn't even move the arm. Excruciating. Aspirin helped the most among over-the-counter pills. Couldn't even wait the 4 hours between doses.

Anyway, accurately verified diagnosis as bursitis online and found this site. Got a bottle of apple cider vinegar and started taking a spoonful in water 3 times a day. Wasn't sure at first whether it was helping or my body was just following its natural course of healing.

After a few weeks, inflammation was down to maybe 25% of the original and I was doing light exercise again. Cut the vinegar treatment down to once a day and improvement seemed to stop. So, after a week I went back to 3 times again and improvement picked up again.

It's now 6 weeks since it all started and I'm able to sleep on the arm again, and am working out again, although much more carefully. I try to avoid exercises that rotate the arm in a 360 degree circle as this causes a "click" in the tendons that I think may be most responsible for irritating the area.

My bottom line is that I'm pretty sure the vinegar is doing something, so I'm going to continue it perhaps indefinitely.

Am in my 20s & had knee pain a few months back & had much trouble folding my knees, especially while taking the stairs or folding the joints.

After an X-ray & Ultrasound my doctor said it was bursitis, might be due to some shock or trauma from falling down or sports, although I couldnot recollect any. Could have been just due wrong position I slept that might have twisted the tissues causing inflammation which was internal but apparently not visible externally but caused much trouble in my daily life & I panicked a lot. Although 2 weeks of medication : VIMOVO seemed to have controlled it still, I felt the pain during walking & other activites. Also standing for sometime like cooking kind of aggravated it.

I didnt want to depend on medicine as I did a bit of research and found that the medicine is quiet strong & not good for intestine as well.

So I came to earthclinic & found people talking about it. Many suggested Apple Cider Vinegar as a cure. So I thought lets try it the natural way. I ordered ACV (Bragg or Filsinger both are equally good) and blackstrap molasses.

From then I mix 2 Tablespoon of ACV & 1 Tspoon of molass in a glass of lukewarm water & drink it first thing in the morning around half an hr before before having any breakfast. I noticed my pain gradually went away which had not completely disappeared even with strong dose of Vimovo.

Also it seems to have given me immunity to cold, coz Canadian Winter is chilly & temp is below -10 many a times, and I came to Canada recently on business for a year, not much used to winter.

Also mix honey with ACV if I run out of blackstrap molass, seems to be good.

So thanks to every one who is discussing their experiences in earth clinic, and I hope mine also helps some one too.

Bursitis cured with ACV. I am over 50 and had a bad fall, landed on my elbow. It swelled and thought it would go away, it didn't. Three months after I started putting ACV on it, and it remained the same.

Then I soaked a piece of cloth in ACV, kept it on the swell with an elbow support sleeve, almost day & night, and after one day it went down by 15%. I also was careful not to hit it again. On 2nd and 3rd day, down by 75%. That ugly swell has gone and hoping for a complete healing.

Hi, just needed to write to say I suffered from "bursitis" in the hip for a year and a half. Every doctor said the same thing: vicodin for the pain, advil for the inflammation, and prescription muscle relaxers for the accompanying muscle cramps, and several rounds of physical therapy. I certainly couldn't function on the medications, and only seemed to get temporarily, mildly better. I stumbled suddenly had a craving for sauerkraut, if you can believe it, and borscht and homemade salad dressings-all foods that I usually don't like. I am not exaggerating when I say I slept my first night pain free, and started doing the vinegar and honey concoction and simply can't believe I feel so good, so fast! I did increase my water intact, too, to aid in cleansing my body of whatever it had, too. I just used Heinz and Sue Bee and all that pain from mid-back to knees are gone. I even did yoga today which I love but was told it was irritating the bursas-"try swimming." How can I swim while taking vicodin and muscle relaxers?!?!?

My father had just retired. A very active man all his life, he found himself suffering with bursitis in the shoulder joints. After taking honey and cider vinegar twice am and eve. for approx two weeks he felt relief and better mobility. After 30 days he could do windmills with both arms. He was so grateful. Thanks for the site, love the generosity and sharing.

I have been suffering for 2 years with bursitis and osteoarthritis in my hip. I have been on all kinds of medications for this, and it feels better as long as I don't stop my meds. I have been in so much pain that I could not hardly walk. I started taking ACV for 2 days now and my legs are not even hurting. I have so much more energy than I had before. This is so much better than medications.

Bursitis and Heel Spurs: I started trying Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) & Blackstrap Molasses (BSM) (warm water, 1TB ACV + 1 ts BSM) and it was less than a week before my limping started getting better & hip stopped hurting 24/7. As usual I wasn't consistent and then I was also diagnosed with 2 heel spurs and after 2 weeks of that I got a gout attack in the other foot (2nd one in two years). I'm back on the ACV and the BSM + 1 ts of Baking Soda. I read that somewhere too. I do the ACV in the BS and let the foam die down, then add the BSM and then the very warm water. I actually am going to start doing one before bed too. I get up in the morning and do oil pulling first for 20-30 min, then the ACV/BSM, then a bit later I do 24 oz of water with lemon and ginger. I hope these details help. I wish when people post they'd just put how much and when they take what ever they take. Thanks to everyone for their sharing ;-)

In response to:

Posted by Leanne (Australia ) on 12/27/2015
Does anyone have a remedy for trochanteric bursitis (hip bursitis)?

Leanne,

I've had bursitis in my hip (occasionally knee or shoulder) since I was 11 or 12. The one thing I've seen really help is a vitamin supplement. I get a sustained release Super B and take it daily as long as I do, I have no problems with the bursitis. If I run out or forget it for a few days, pain starts. Also, if I increase my activity level significantly, I need to increase the Super B for a few days.

Let me know if this helps. It's worked well for me for 50+ years.

I am new to using BSM...4 weeks ago had an MRI which showed I had a torn meniscus in the right knee, along with arthritis. Orth doctor said at this time, there is no need for surgery. He recommended I take 500mg of calcium a day to help heal the knee and help the bones. This got me very down because I am very active. I was not going to wait around so a friend in Ca. said how BSM was good for tons of things. I found Earth Clinic and I referred to it several times. I LOVE to research and research. Living in Louisiana, we have many sugar cane mills. I found thru friends a gallon of BSM from the mill. And OH YES.....it is nasty. BUT, every morning I take a Tablespoon right down....no time to play with mixing it in anything. I have been taking BSM for 3 weeks now. This I have noticed and right away. Although active, I was tired everyday......everyday. I ate right but was still tired....NOT ANYMORE......trust me on this one.....I saw the surgeron last week and he commented on how the leg was easy to move and how I was coming along so well. He commented on how I was very up beat and was even losing weight....for some reason I am not hungry all the time. I need to lose some weight to help the knees and I feel that the BSM has come to my rescue....We all know that it takes time for many remedies or meds. to help in various health issues. As I have researched on BSM, it can only benefit you and not harm. My husband began to take it daily also. He has been dealing with hip pain for the last 3 years..bursitus...in the last 3 weeks he has seen a difference. He also has more energy. I will keep you informed of our progress

I had very bad bursitis in my shoulder. I used a solution of borax and water (1 tsp / 1 liter) and soaked a cotton cloth and applied it to my shoulder several times a day.

I was hesitant to drink the solution, so decided applying it topically would be OK (not sure why I thought that, the skin is a huge organ which absorbs all kinds of things, including Epsom salts and baking soda in a bath) The application at room temperature felt so good and relieving. After about a week, the swelling in my shoulder had diminished and pain was greatly relieved. I kept it up for weeks, and the bursitis went away. My orthopedist wanted to inject cortisone. I said I would consider it if taking glucosamine and condroitin didn't help and that I would let him know. He actually told me that some of his patients had good results from quitting dairy consumption since dairy is an inflammatory...so I did that, also.

I was diagnosed with bursitis in my knee years ago. I have fluid in my knee, too. Mostly it doesn't bother me, but when it does, I massage castor oil into my knee and that always seems to help. If it is really bad I use castor oil on a cloth with plastic wrap and a heating pad at night-time and always feel better by morning.