That Time I Threw Out My Back and How I Healed FAST Using Herbs and Essential Oils
The scream tore out of my mouth—-and then the tears of extreme pain cascaded down my cheeks as I fell to the ground….
Last year, I threw my back out for the very first (and hopefully last) time moving some furniture around, and OH! My goodness gracious! The pain! The agony! The spasms coming like waves!
I literally cried for over 30 minutes as I laid out flat on my yoga mat in our office/clinic/studio/apothecary in town. I could NOT move.
I tried to breathe through the spasms, and tried to relax my muscles, while I told Joe what essential oils to go gather and which salves so he could get those on me quickly. Thank goodness he was here, and thank goodness I was where most of my oils are.
The essential oils brought significant immediate relief, and I was able to at least roll over, get up with help, and hobble into the apothecary (herb/oil room) to make myself a custom tincture blend and a medicinal antispasmodic, pain-relieving herbal tea blend.
Take a look at the best Christian herbalism school, the School of Botanical Arts & Sciences (SOBAS) by Healing Harvest Homestead. Start your herbal journey with us today!
A Quick Note on Herbal Energetics and Your Decision-Making Process for Formulation:
Herbalism and aromatherapy are NOT one-size-fits-all practices, even though big herbal products formulators and sellers of their wares want you to believe this is the case. When we think about herbs like this (what herb for that condition), then we’re sadly relegating them to the position of a lowly “drug.” A simple, symptom-masking drug, and that may have negative side-effects unless you know how to formulate.
It’s vitally important, as you learn herbalism, to learn to consider what we call herbal energetics when formulating for yourself and others. This simply means that you create your formulation with intention while keeping a few things in mind. Within that intention for yourself or client, you consider their individual constitution, the actions of the plants on the body in relation to the person’s constitution, and finally the health need or situation itself.
There’s a LOT that goes into this thinking, and it’s a more advanced herbalism skill, but even if you’re beginning, it’s wise to begin considering these things.
Stay tuned! A Western Herbal Energetics course will soon be added to our School of Botanical Arts & Sciences, so that you’ll finally be able to stop guessing when creating your products for individuals, and finally help them start the healing process.
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Now, I’m going to continue sharing what I did for my back over a period of time and why what I did saved the day. You’ll be able to take nuggets from my experience in case you ever experience something like this—-extreme back pain with muscle spasms.
Using Essential Oils for a Back Emergency
Calming Antispasmodic Essential Oil Blend:
NOTE: I just had Joe drop the drops into an existing salve I had around to power up the pain relief. Since he doesn't understand dilutions, and frankly I didn't care at that point, I have no idea how many drops he actually used. I'm sure it was a lot, but that's ok, as it was a very acute situation.
Here's a safe blend for a one ounce carrier oil at a 5% dilution, and all these essential oils are relatively safe for topical use and aren't sensitizing in a short-term use case like this:
5 drops ginger (Zingiber officinale) essential oil
5 drops black pepper (Piper nigrum) essential oil
5 drops balsam copaiba (Copaifera officinalis) essential oil
5 drops blue tansy (Tanacetum annuum) essential oil
5 drops frankincense (Boswellia spp) essential oil
5 drops sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana) essential oil
**These are all equal parts, so you can make some adjustments. If I had thought of it, I would have added some clove too. When I got home, I used these same essential oils above, plus I added a bit of birch (Betula spp) and some clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oils in much smaller amounts. You need to be careful with the clove, as it is a hot oil, and shouldn't be used in more than a 0.5% dilution topically, so that's only about 3 drops in a 1 ounce blend.
Essential Oil Safety:
One of the things we teach in our Aromatherapy Specialist Certification course is safety.
Safety. Safety. Safety. It’s vital to know which essential oils are possibly sensitizing over time, which may cause allergies for some, which are phototoxic (no, all citrus oils are not phototoxic—this is a myth), and the maximum topical dilution ratios for more dangerous essential oils, such as the clove above, for example.
We teach a LOT more in that course, too. When you’re done, you’ll be on your way to becoming an expert aromatherapist.
There's chemistry in why and how these essential oils work, and eventually, I'll be making a YouTube video on this incident and going deeply into the "why" I chose these oils. Suffice to say, the combination was strongly:
anti-inflammatory
analgesic
warming overall
calming/relaxing
anti-spasmodic
WONDERFUL
Using Medicinal Herbs for a Back Emergency
Here's what I did with the herbs...I made two different products once I could hobble....
1) Tincture for Spasms and Wrenched Muscles
I used simple tinctures (herbs tinctured by themselves and not in a blend) and blended roughly equal parts of each of these:
Willow bark (Salix alba)
Devil's claw (Harpagophytum officinale)
Hops (Humulus lupulus)
This tincture blend worked REALLY fast, providing almost immediate relief. I did have an empty stomach, though, so I think that helped.
I dosed myself at 6 dropperfuls (about 1 teaspoon) every two to three hours that first day. By bedtime, I felt significant improvement and was even able to sleep through the night with my sleepy time herbs and essential oils.
2) An Herbal Tea to Sip for Spasms, Pain, and Wrenched Muscles
I combined several different herbs for the tea, and Joe helped blend this because he is really big into flavor. I'm more of a "take your medicine" no matter how it tastes kind of person. He insisted on adding some cinnamon for flavor, but it’s a great add because it also helps stimulate the blend in the body.
Here's the blend:
2 parts wood betony (Betonica officinalis)
2 parts hops (Humulus lupulus)
1 part ginger (Zingiber officinale)
1 part cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum)
2 parts willow bark (Salix alba)
1 part turmeric (Curcuma longa)
1/2 part black pepper (Piper nigrum)
I put about 4 teaspoons of this blend in a large infuser strainer and sat it on top of a wide-mouthed pint jar, then set a lid on top to be sure the aromatics didn't evaporate. After steeping for about 40 minutes (it could have been less, but the tincture was working nicely by this time, and so were the essential oils), I sipped on it as the hours went by.
I got about 1/4 of the way down (about 1/2 cup), and I began to feel quite "woozy," and relaxed. Except for the fact that I couldn't sit down normally, and had to be careful about how I moved, it was wonderful. Well, as wonderful as something like this could be.
Strangely, I’m glad this happened! I consider throwing my back out a wonderful experience! I only say this because even though it was very traumatic, and the pain was intense and horrible, going into the second day things were almost 100% better.
AND, I got to experience these things:
1) know and better understand the excruciating pain that others feel when this happens to them...definitely an empathy-builder
2) work with wood betony for an acute issue for the first time (Now, a year and a half later, it’s still one of my favorite herbs, so much so that we now have an excellent masterclass with a complete book on it in the Confident Herbalist Tribe!)
3) prove once again to myself and anyone else who is interested that herbs and essential oils WORK incredibly quickly and well, and WHILE they support the body’s natural healing process and not just mask the symptoms. God is SO, SO good, and I’m forever grateful for His gift of medicinal plants for us.
I seriously, SERIOUSLY can no longer imagine what people deal with who don't know what herbs to reach for in a pinch like this.
I suppose they reach for the acetaminophen or the ibuprofen (just YUCK) which only covers the pain....these do not help the body or mind cope and heal quickly. Not to mention you've got the liver and kidney bashing going on.....
Learning herbalism and aromatherapy has been nothing but a blessing in my life and many, many others I know. Amazing. Just amazing!
As I sit here today, writing to you, sipping on a different and wonderful herbal tea I put together a few minutes ago…..
I know that the herbs and oils I put into and onto my body have only done GOOD things. Plus, I smell great, too, thanks to the essential oils!
I want this for you, too. I want this for everyone.
Consider joining me in an herbalism course or take the Holistic Aromatherapy Specialist Certification course or Family Herbalist Certification course!
Or, join over 550+ students in the Confident Herbalist Tribe, our herbal community and massive collection of herbal masterclasses with monthly live sessions and replays!
The time to learn this vital skill is now, before it's too late.
For people who love YouTube University....
You can't learn the kind of herbalism I know and teach...the kind where you know what to do in a situation....from YouTube. I promise.
YouTube is fun, and yes, please explore! But get some good training too. Hopefully from a real person with experience. Even if it's not me.
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I hope you enjoyed these quick ideas and how IF you know what to do and have just a few of the right herbs and oils on hand, you can literally save the day!
Hugs, Health, and Herbs,
Heidi
P.S. I’ve spent over a decade deep in coursework, work with clients, product formulation, and now teaching online. I’m also a career teacher, and I provide true mentorship in my higher level courses. Join us in a course!
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