The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Rebecca (Aberdeen, Washington) on 10/09/2008
★★★★★
Apple cider vinegar all but eliminated swelling and pain. I am 58 and have been in good shape most of my life but had a low back injury over 3 years ago and have had severe pain and stiffness which has sent me to doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists and even a rolfer for 15 sessions! All of these helped but very temporarily. I have also been doing yoga and exercises from a book called Relaxercise (excellent by the way) which have also helped but only somewhat. I had been getting worse within the past few months and had develped knee, foot and hand pain along with swelling of these areas especially one ankle and foot which was twice the normal size. It hurt to walk or wear any type of shoe. My husband is an RN who looked at my swollen ankle and foot and told me it almost looked like gouty arthritis. This comment prompted me to research the subject and I found a blog of 100's of people all of who had been using ACV and all but 1 person rated the treatment 5 stars. I immediately went to a health food store and bought the organic, unfiltered ACV and started by taking 3 tablespoons in a large glass of water sweetened with organic raw honey. Following the first dose the night before, I woke to find the swelling reduced to about 1/4 of what it had been and the pain nearly gone. The stuff works like a miracle! I have continued to take it every day but have cut down the dose to 2 tablespoons 2-3 times per day in the same amount of water with honey. I have only a twinge of pain and 1 spot of swelling about the size of a quarter remaining on my ankle. Amazingly, my low back has less pain and more mobility than what I have ever had since the injury over 3 years ago. All this and I have only discovered this treatment less than 1 week ago! Amazing!!
Tumeric and Lemon Juice
Posted by Annee (Niagara Falls, Canada) on 08/26/2008
★★★★★
hi to everyone who suffers with a chronic disease.. i suffer with a lot of pain, from interstitial cystitis to severe degenerating disk of my spine. i am only 48.. i have severe athritis as well. i have been taking baking soda twice a day but found out that this cheap remedy is very good and will reduce the acid by far..and is good for a lot of ailments i take 1/4tsp of turmeric/ a spice from the grocery store..and squeezed lemon juice with hot water, about one cup... before breakfast and dinner.. read about information on the web, its amazing.. a specialist who I saw at the spinal decompression clinic told me that.. my faith is in that DR... take care..
Hydrogen Peroxide Inhalation
Posted by Kenneth (Naples, FL) on 08/26/2008
★★★★★
I have lifted weights for 15 years off and on. For the last 3 years i had a shoulder pain in the front of my right shoulder. It hurt bad sometime and sometimes not as bad but the pain was still there, so i stopped lifting and it got worse, what is going on. I thought it would have gotten better but i was worse. Well for other reasons i inhalled hydrogen peroxide, Not thinking that my shoulder would heal up, it did. I now can twist it raise it, sleep on it and even do pushups again. I am amazed, it healed in alittle over a month. No more pain. From Ken
Turmeric
Posted by Sandy (Cape May, New Jersey) on 08/19/2008
★★★★★
In January I was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst, in May with chronic polypoid cystitis of the bladder. I had general discomfort throughout my abdomen, flank and pelvic area- not sure what condition was causing what pain. Also had what I believe was arthritic pain in my hip. Only remedy for polypoid cystitis that doctor recommended was painkillers- I declined- or ibuprofen, which I did not want to take on a regular basis. Did some reserch on natural anti-inflammatories, and found lots of info on turmeric. I just went to my local drug store, and bought turmeric capsules, I think they are 500 mg. I started taking 2 pills 2x a day, for a couple of days, then decreased to 2 pills 1x a day, and after just a week or so I stopped taking them altogether. Amazing, but all of my aches and pains disappearred! No bladder pain- no flank pain- no hip pain! If I feel a twinge of anything, I take 2 turmeric, and that does the trick. I am hooked!
Collagen and Keratin Capsules
Posted by Janine (Wellington, NZ ) on 08/11/2008
★★★★★
I have been taking Collagen/Keratin capsules for 2 weeks. I started taking these as a possible cure for neck pain which i have suffered from for years. I developed Sjogrens syndrome 2 years ago as a result of a nasty virus I had. I have had the dry mouth which has affected the linings of my mouth and caused bad breath. In the last year I also had dry gritty eyes, and dry vagina. After two weeks on the collagen/keratin capsules I now have saliva in my mouth! My eyes and vagina are improving with moisture too. And yes my Neck pain has practically dissappeared. Hope someone else might find this cure works for them too!!
DMSO
Posted by Barbara (Davis, Ca USA) on 07/06/2008
★★★★★
DMSO: I know, I know, it's a solvent, used to clean aircraft and electrical parts. It has an odor, but what cure doesn't come with a drawback or 2?
This stuff literally can work in an instant, long term...I don't know the effects, but then, we all KNOW that Motrin affects the liver directly too.
So, I woke up this AM with shooting electrical pain in my left shoulder again, just wanted to go right back to sleep, couldn't hold it straight without weakness and shooting pains, feels like something is pinched or going wrong.
Swipe some of this DMSO clear liquid on my shoulder muscles, and poof! the sensations went away until right now and it is almost 18 hours later!
Now, what shall get rid of the pain in my hand and finger joints? I am awake tonight because of the intense pains in them, so I am on the internet here reading more about ACV and honey to relieve this, I had a good friend tell me about it years ago, before I needed to use it. Good skin and no pain in the old guys I worked with who all tried it one month on a dare...me being young, stored the info away in my brain....for the future. And my auntie, she told me her momma had poured it in drinking water of the hired milkers who they had working in their dairy. Problem is that she thought her mother was being mean in fact her mother was helping them to produce more work/milk in their cows.
Natural Painkillers
Posted by TAN KOON PENG (SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE) on 06/22/2008
Ginger is a natural pain reliever. Just cut it into thin slice and steep it as a tea.
Mace and nutmeg are also good at relieving pain but do not take too much of these because this two herbs can be hallucinogenic.
Bromelain present in pineapple is a great natural antinflammatory.
Arnica and bilberry are good for pain.
Carrot juice are effective for back (siatica),leg pain, and arthritis!
Capsaicin! This is actually a component in chili peppers and also works well for back pain, joint pain etc.
Natural Painkillers
Posted by TAN KOON PENG (SINGAPORE) on 06/22/2008
White willow bark, devil's claw, Turmeric, cayenne, green tea, feverfew, ginger, kava kava, tea tree oil, cats claw, valerian, cloves oil are useful painkiller. white willow bark works well for all kinds of pain.
Eliminate Artificial Sweeteners
Posted by Kelley (Toddville, Iowa) on 06/20/2008
★★★★★
In hopes of loosing some weight I started drinking diet pop. Before long I noticed that my hips hurt ALOT. I have been on celebrex for years to help with the hip pain, but when I started drinking diet pop the pain was so intense that I was doubling up on the meds as well as taking tylenal to help with the pain.Going to bed was horrible as it hurt so much. Once I stopped drinking pop all together my hip pain went away. I have stopped taking the celebrex and only need tylenal when I have over taxed myself.
Massage, Acupuncture, Traumeel, Icing
Posted by Kym (Niagara, Canada) on 06/14/2008
★★★★★
I have severe elbow pain from both tennis elbow and golfers elbow caused by trauma to my elbow and then repetitive use. What has helped make it bearable for me is massage and acupuncture. I also use Traumeel cream on the elbow and Traumeel tablets dissolved in mouth 3x daily for relief of pain and inflammation. If the pain is bad and elbow is very inflamed, such as after alot of use, try icing for 10mins or an ice massage (rub an ice cube over affected area for 3-5mins should feel cold,then burny, then achy, then numb be sure to stop when it starts feeling numb). I also wear an elbow brace to support the elbow this helps alot if you have to use your elbow alot.
Castor Oil
Posted by Al (Collinsville, IL) on 06/13/2008
★★★★★
Castor Oil & Pain:
Call it what you wish, Voodoo, Witchcraft, "BS", whatever, but it DID work for me. Having recently torn the cartilage in my left knee, simultaneously diagnosed "with a little arthritis" in the same, and swelling behind the knee. My Sport's Ortho said that the swelling was common with the torn cartilage but should go down in time. I began searching on the Web for a magical pain relief remedy (other than my already supplementation of Glucosamine Sulfate, Chondrotin, Taurine, Collagen, HA, Cats Claw, Bromelain, MSM, etc., etc., etc - .all of which I have been taking for years due to 27 yrs of cycling but at almost 68yo, something had to give). One subject that kept surfacing on the Searches was an old time remedy of Castor Oil. I'm not in terrible pain, but it is a 24/7 aggravation, as anyone who has similar discomforts can attest to. I decided to give it a try; purchased a package of ladies' cosmetic, cleansing pads (~3"x4") and a small bottle of Castor Oil (CO), I placed a pad on a saucer, saturated the pad with CO (not dripping) and popped it into the microwave for about 35 secs. I, then placed the (105F) warm pad on my knee; wrapped my knee-pad with plastic wrap (to keep the CO from staining the heating pad) and then applied a heating pad, set to Med. heat. I left it on for about 1 hour and when I removed everything, I did a "test walk" -not only was my knee not stiff, and the swelling was 95% GONE!! I could walk with 100% less discomfort and this was 10x more effective than the Cortisone or three Hydraluronic Acid injections I had received in a two months period. The other nice thing, is that you don't have to throw the saturated pad away; place in a Ziploc bag for the next application and just add a little more CO.
I generally apply this treatment daily, each time the knee feels better - I know it's not going to remedy the situation 100%, but has made my life much better.
Eliminate Artificial Sweeteners
Posted by Patrick (Caldwell, NJ) on 04/20/2008
★★★★★
I'm a forty year old man who feels like he's in his late fifties. For a long time I just figured it was from being overweight and I still am sure that this contributes. But the sheer level of aches and pains for someone so young seemed extraordinary. Every joint hurts constantly, especially on my left side (I'm a lefty so it figures).
Being overweight, there were two things I did to keep from becoming more so. First, I never liked sweet sodas, so started drinking lemon/lime seltzer. Second, I do like sweet coffee so used a single packet of aspartame in each cup I drink.
One weekend I ran out of seltzer, and being too lazy to get more I just started drinking up my wife's diet orange sodas. By the following Tuesday my aches and pains had worsened so much I considered going to the doctor. Visions of wheelchairs and leukemia were swimming in my head.
I put two and two together and went cold turkey as far as artificial sweeteners go, and about three days later and ever since I have been 100% pain free.
I'm convinced.
Soap
Posted by Sue (Flint, MI) on 03/03/2007
★★★★★
I would have leg pain a lot when I would go to bed it would get worse my mother in law suggested putting a bar of soap in my bed by my legs I noticed the pain disappeared so now when I have pain I put the soap by whatever hurts
Blackstrap Molasses
Posted by Claire (London, UK) on 02/24/2007
★★★★★
This is g8 stuff .I had a big problem with carpal syndrome some nights i could not sleep cause of the pain. Searched on the internet for any ideas came across this site and read reviews. Next day brought some BSM (Black Strap Molasses). Took a tablespoon before i ate every morning and another before i slept. After a few days the pain in my arm was not so severe. Within a month the pain disappeared.Also my husband noticed that i had lost weight. Maybe this was due to taking bsm (black strap molasses) . i continued to take it and in 6 months i have lost 3 stone. I think the bsm stopped my craving for sugar and also i didn't feel hungry.So overall, a wonderful medicine with loads of vitamins and minerals. recommend it to anyone.feel g8, hair is shiny. nails strong and skin glowing. This would be g8 for someone who is pregnant as it has calcium and iron in it.
Blackstrap Molasses
Posted by Linda (Orlando, FL) on 03/05/2007
★★★★★
On the acv and baking soda page, Katie from Santa Ana was asking about her chronic shoulder pain and what to do. I had a severe rotator cuff injury about 3 years ago. I could not even lift my arm. Initially I took glucosamine and chondroitin, which helped a lot with the healing and the pain. I was taking two pills per day for about 2 years, and then 1 pill a day for the past year. If I stopped taking the glucosamine and condroitin the pain would return. I found this site a few weeks ago and have begun taking molasses with my morning coffee. I read (on a different page) that it helps with inflamation and pain. I have not needed the glucosamine and condroitin ever since!!
Blackstrap Molasses
Posted by Helen (Long Island, United States) on 03/14/2007
★★★★★
I have been taking molasses in warm milk and agree it is like a latte. It really tastes good. Also, my leg pain has lessened and I can go up stairs and walk much better. I am also taking the vinegar and baking soda which I didn't think was doing much, but when I added the molasses drink I think it made a big difference. (My doctor says I have very bad arthritis. This is the first relief I have had. These remedies are highly recommended by me.
