Ganglion Cyst - Editor's Choice

Over the years, Earth Clinic readers have sent us many reports about their treatments for Ganglion Cyst. The editors at Earth Clinic consider the below posts to be some of the most helpful and informative and have named them 'Editor's Choice'. We hope that you will find this useful.

Physiotherapy

Posted by Alex (Thessaloniki / Greece) on 05/20/2021
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had a ganglion cyst in the upper part (hairy) of my left wrist for more than six years. I have tried the needle method and it got swollen again and refiled in few months. Frankincense Essential Oil didn' t work for me either.

The following instructional video saved me:

"How I Fixed the Ganglion Cyst in My Wrist"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEc-tAmbdzk

So I followed the three pillars:

1) I removed the prolonged tension in the area by buying an ergonomic vertical left hand mouse. It has a different hand grip from common mouses. Prolonged mouse usage is thought by many doctors to cause ganglion cysts in the wrist.

2) I bought a foam roller and applied it to my upper forearm and wrist.

3) I did some dumbbell (5kgr) exercises by lifting it up just by moving the wrist (palm facing upward) to strengthen the antagonistic muscles.

In about two months my swollen ganglion cyst has almost flattened and the results lasts until now for many months.


DMSO, Essential Oils

Posted by Chip (St. Augustine, Fl) on 02/27/2018
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Getting Rid of a ganglion cyst:

I have tried it out on several people and it works consistently. I am 70 and have a girl friend who has been affected by a painful ganglion cyst.

A few words of warning: A key feature of this protocol is DMSO. There is a lot on the web about it, however I have found it hard to find a bunch of the gotchas about using it in one place. So before we get into the protocol a few words about DMSO.

DMSO is an all natural product as it is a byproduct of processing wood into wood pulp for making paper. DMSO stands for Dimethyl Sulfoxide. It has been used for a wide variety of medical problems since the 19960's. It is readily used throughout much of the world, however in the U.S., Big Pharma has convinced the FDA not approve it's use for medical purposes except under extremely limited circumstances. In spite of that, it is still used extensively by veterinarians and it is legal for human use in Oregon and Florida. I

In spite of it's near miraculous properties, it is a strong solvent and it is best to take a few precautions. One of the basic properties is that it transports whatever is on the skin into the body to which it is applied. Therefore, it is essential that hands be cleaned as well as that area of the body where it is to be applied.

When it is used to help heal ganglion cysts I like to start by applying a dilute essential oil mixture to the affected area. I use a small glass roll-on- bottle (readily available on line.) I use a 3 to 5% solution of Organic Frankincense and Carrot Seed essential oils. (note that the non-organic essential oils are often synthetic and should not be topically applied.)

I use coconut oil or rose hip oil as carrier oils. They both help protect the skin and shield it from the solvent DMSO effects. Although sometimes just the Frankincense by itself works to eliminate the ganglion cyst.

The DMSO should be either 50 or 70% gel solutions cut with Aloe Vera and scented with an essential oil. (This is readily available on line.) Although the unscented DMSO will work, most people who use it get a garlic like smell given off from their pores. Although it is available in 99.95% pure solutions a 50 to 70% solution is more readily absorbed. Later I say slather the DMSO on, not rub it in. The more it is rubbed the more it can irritate the skin.

The Protocol:

  1. Coat the ganglion cyst with the diluted Essential Oil mixture.

  2. Apply a poultice of Epsom salt mixed with a little coconut oil to the ganglion cyst.

  3. Slather on the DMSO over the Epsom salt poultice and leave on for about 25 minutes.

  4. Usually within 10 minutes the cyst will feel better.

  5. Apply this protocol 3 or 4 times a day until the cyst disappears, then continue for 2 weeks to ensure the roots of the cyst are destroyed.


Weight Training, Nattokinase

Posted by Susan (Westhampton) on 06/01/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had a small but slowly growing ganglion cyst just on my wrist at the crease mark area. I tried a few remedies over the past two years that I read on the Earth Clinic site like massage, banging it with a book (hilarious) and rubbing frankincense oil on it every night. Nothing made a dent, just like everyone reports.

Tonight I looked at my wrist and realized my ganglion cyst has COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED! There are only 2 recent changes I have made, so it's either one of the following OR the combination that dissolved the cyst.

1. I started using light weights at the gym for my arms. I do forearm lifts using a 10 lb weight. I have been doing this for the past 2 months, two or three times a week.

2. I take a nattokinase supplement, half dose, every other day. I don't like to take too much of it because it causes a small cut to bleed more than normal. I have also been taking the past few months.

I am very happy about this! I had been told surgery was my only option.

I will update everyone in case I stop doing one or both of these things and it starts to come back or if I can pinpoint whether it was the nattokinase or the weight lifting that dissolved the cyst. For now I can happily report a 100% cure. Yea, ganglion cyst be gone!


Magnesium

Posted by Keira (Sydney, Australia) on 07/27/2016
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Ganglion Cyst: I had raised painless red lumps on both thumbs near the joint, I read the posts on Epsom salts treatment which are full of magnesium, & thought it would be easier to take magnesium tablets. I took two 500mg tablets a day- one in the morning, the other at night. After 3 days I thought the lumps looked slightly smaller. I continued taking the tablets. After 3 weeks the lumps were now gone, but the skin was still red. I continued taking the tablets & after another couple of weeks the redness was totally gone.

I now take a maintenance dose of one tablet daily, & now several months later they have not returned.


The Book Method

Posted by Lori (Wilm, NC) on 09/28/2014
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I am a 31 year old woman. I got my first ganglion cyst on the inside of my wrist 5 years ago. Dr. said it was barbaric to hit it with a book, so I went and got xrays, went to a hand surgeon, then had the surgery. Dr. didn't tell me, but my hand was in a cast for 2 weeks and it took 6 weeks for the stitches to heal and to lift more than 5-10 pounds.

2 months later the cyst came back in the exact same place. I went back to see the Dr. and they said it is very common for the cyst to come back. (Why not say that before surgery). I got xrays again and an MRI this time to see what area was causing the cyst to reappear. Dr. recommended another surgery (each surgery leaves scar tissue).

I came home and googled home remedies and got this website. First I saw he frankincense oil and the Epsom salt water. Some people said it took from 3 days-2 months for it to work. After reading, I saw the 'hit it with a book', so I thought why not, it is 5 in the morning, what else should I be doing. lol. I tried a couple times, but chickened out.

Then I though to take the book and hit the hand that did not have a cyst on it to get the force right and see how it felt. Once I did that a couple times, I felt more comfortable and hit the cyst. It instantly started going down. I massaged it for awhile to get more to go down, then I put ice on it for 15 minutes.

What could have been another surgery and more Dr. visits and time and money...disappeared in 2 minutes. It really didn't hurt, more just the thought of hitting yourself makes your stomach turn. It did not hurt at all afterwards and after 12 hours there was no bruise or pain. Also my hand was numb up my forearm from the cyst pressing on a nerve. As soon as I did this all feeling came back. Good Luck


Binding Pressure Method

Posted by Dave (Fountain Inn, SC) on 04/07/2013
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had what an orthopedic surgeon described as a ganglion cyst on the outside of my left ankle. It had stayed there for a number of years growing more and more every year until it was bothering me when I walked. The surgeon told me he could lance it but it would grow back. He told me the cause: the foot is like a building, he explained. If a part of it shifts incorrectly then the whole will not drain liquids as it should. As such, the cyst accumulates liquid and continually grows. Well, I went home and thought about that for a while. If my left foot structure had shifted then why wasn't it hurting somehow. So I began pressing the foot, using my thumb to see if some "issue" existed that I knew not of. The cyst was on the outside of the left ankle but I was pressing my forefinger and thumb all around the inside of the top of the foot... Deeply pressing, to find something wrong. After all, if the foot structure was "out" as the surgeon had told me then something would be "disjointed. " It took me only five minutes to find the spot. How could I have not felt that pain before is beyond me. Between the big toe and the second toe, about an inch up the top of the foot...as I pressed deeply with my finger, a terrific pain and soreness was instantly evident. "What is THAT?" I thought. I gently used pressure... five seconds and letting up (with my thumb and forefinger). After twenty minutes I let the foot rest.

The next morning to my amazement the size of the cyst had diminished by about one third in size! That night I repeated the pressure method where the pain was centered... Between the big tow and second toe... but up the foot...deep into the foot. The next day the cyst was half the size as before I'd started. The third day, an amazing thing happened. As I did my usual "press" with my foot crossed over my right knee, and using my right hand with thumb below the big toe and forefinger pressing on top between the big toe and second toe, suddenly, the structure "clicked" as if clicking back in place! I gently massaged the left foot. No pain or soreness at all. The next morning the entire cyst was GONE. From then on, I occasionally repeat the technique...pushing between the toes and gently separating the big toe deep and high in the foot from the second toe. And on occasion, it will "click" back. That was eight years ago. The cyst has never come back. I just wonder if many of the cysts that arise are structurally instigated cysts that can be "manipulated" such that the structure, whether it be hand or foot etc using a method I describe herein might reset the structure allowing proper drainage. Also, it could be that some "cysts" described in this section are not caused by the "structure" problem the orthopedic surgeon explained to me.

Once I had a growth on my hand coming out of the inside of the palm, between the little finger and fourth finger. That one, unlike the one on my foot was hard.The ganglion cyst on my foot was soft. The one on my hand I do not believe could be described as a ganglion cyst. I used DMSO, the solvent and anti oxidant, applied with a white paper towel and left as a poultice for thirty minutes. Two applications were sufficient to make the cyst disappear. Dilute the DMSO with an equal amount of purified water or the DMSO will "pucker" the skin. The pucker will go away' in a few hours but it will scare you. To make sure the cyst was not caused by an infection I'd use as the "dilution" not just any water, but colloidal silver. The silver will kill any infection. That hard cyst on my hand came back in the exact place six months later and the second time I did use the DMSO plus the colloidal silver as a "dilution" and again used a white pater towel with about twenty drops of DMSO and twenty drops of colloidal silver. That was ten years ago. That hand cyst has never returned. The DMSO is good for stiff hands (arthritic hands and fingers, by the way). Just a cap full rubbed into the hands like a lotion making sure joints of both hands are covered... all joints and poof...hands as good as new. Every year or so I feel that stiffness and I pull out my DMSO.


Vitamin E

Posted by Crystal (Tracey, CA) on 02/16/2013
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

In the last two weeks I had a ganglion cyst (also an ailment) once again surface on my hand. I bought vitamin e capsules. Took them within 24 hours hand cyst gone. Bartholin gland 3/4 of size. Vitamin e!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God Bless Laura (Ventnor, NJ) on 08/10/2009. for her posting in the ganglion cyst section!!!!!!!


Vitamin C

Posted by Joanne (Tulsa, Ok) on 02/23/2012
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I had a ganglion cyst years ago, I took large dose daily of crystal "C". The pain stopped first, then the bump disappeared. A few years later, I was pressured to stop my "C" intake by my GYN, because I was pregnant... Mistake. The ganglion cyst returned, but disappeared after I started by crystal "C" again. Crystal "C" is a high dosage vitamin C. My daughter is now 18 years old, and the cyst has not returned.


Sea Salt, Epsom Salt, Borax

Posted by Bill (San Fernando, Philippines) on 01/07/2010
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Hi Everyone...I had a significant ganglion lump appear on my right wrist joint earlier last year(2009). A ganglion lump is defined as:

"A ganglion is a small, usually hard bump above a tendon or in the capsule that encloses a joint. A ganglion is also called a synovial hernia or synovial cyst."

"Most ganglions develop on the hand or wrist. This condition is common in people who bowl or who play handball, raquetball, squash, or tennis. Runners and athletes who jump, ski, or play contact sports often develop foot ganglions."

I started to take 1/4 tspn sea salt 1/8 tspn Epsom salts in a full glass of water twice a day as well as spraying my body after showering with an 8 oz spray bottle containing water 3 tspns Epsom Salts 1/2 tspn borax and the ganglion lump simply disappeared quickly within a week. I was little amazed, since my ganglion lump had been with me for well over a year.

I also have small calcium bumps or lumps on the back of my neck which also greatly reduced in size because of this protocol. I'm guessing here but I think this was perhaps due to the magnesium (from Epsom Salts) leeching out the calcium and restoring some electrolytic balance in that area of my body.



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