Aching joints and muscle problems are common before, during and after the menopause. The joint pain isn’t caused by injury or exhaustion but may be related to fluctuating hormone levels. Collagen is a protein that binds every tissue in the body and when it begins to weaken at the menopause, muscles lose their bulk, strength and coordination and joints become stiff. Muscles become more prone to stiffness after exercise and joints may swell so movement is restricted. If you experience bloating and fluid retention you may also get pins and needles or numbness in your hands.

It isn’t wise to ignore aches and pains as early treatment can often bring about a cure and prevent further development of arthritis. Getting plenty of rest, eating nutritious foods, preferably organic food, fruits and vegetables-and avoiding known toxins and stimulants, are healthy strategies for fighting joint pains. The following recommendations should also help:

 

• Try a heating pad or soaking in a warm bath for 30 minutes to increase the blood flow to the muscles. A warm footbath with a few drops of the essential oil of peppermint or rosemary right before bed may help. Or perhaps a bath to which valerian has been added. Ginger baths, soaks, and compresses may bring soothing, warm relief to sore and aching joints.  
• Try to exercise every day. If you are in a lot of pain avoid high impact exercises and do yoga, stretching and walking instead. 
• Avoid over the counter pain killers unless absolutely necessary. Capsaicin creams may prove useful if they are applied several times a day. Capsaicin, a component of chilli peppers, helps to block the pain. Other herbal remedies that may be helpful include: alfalfa, feverfew, and white willow. Unlike aspirin and cortisone, the herbs don’t produce side effects when used carefully. Also unlike drugs, herbs provide bone-building minerals, immune-strengthening micronutrients, and endocrine-nourishing glycosides. Aspirin is actually based on an extract from willow, originally used for pain relief by the American Indians.  Salicylates (which are the active ingredients in aspirin) are found in the bark, buds and leaves of willows, birches, true wintergreen, poplars, and black haw and have been used for centuries to help ease inflammatory pain. Sterols found in the roots of many plants such as wild yam, sarsaparilla, ginseng, black cohosh and devil’s club have also been found to help ease sore joints.
• Essential fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties. Regular use of Omega 3 fish oil can help relieve pain and regular use helps prevent aching joints (see the Resources Page for a high strength Omega 3 fish oil).
• In addition to herbal remedies, visualisation, swimming in warm water and acupuncture may help greatly for aching joints. 
• Finally, pay attention to your posture – including how you sit, stand or carry items and try to reduce the strain on your back and neck. When standing keep your head held high, your pelvis forward and your abdomen and buttocks tucked in. When sitting keep your spine against the back of the chair and your knees a little higher than your hips and when carrying items remember that heavy bags put pressure on your back so try to alter the load.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were swift, effective, natural pain-relieving remedies so that you didn’t have to constantly resort to over the counter drugs or medications? Potentially, the repeated use of such drugs could damage your stomach lining, your liver and your kidneys, not to mention the fact that overdoses can be lethal.

For example, aspirin will tear up the lining of your stomach and you may not even know it is doing it until it is too late and painkillers containing paracetamol can damage the liver and kidneys after prolonged use. Fortunately, if you’re reluctant to take drugs or worried about the side effects or becoming too reliant on them you don’t have to just live with the pain: there are plenty of safe and pleasant herbal alternatives. Let me, therefore, review some of the best.

Let’s begin with herbs for headaches and migraines which are increasingly common as allergies and general tensions in our everyday lives increase. Regular doses of the herb feverfew may ease or prevent them altogether, especially if they are caused by stress. Feverfew dilates the blood vessels in the head, reversing the constriction that results from tensing the neck and shoulders when under stress. Taking it regularly may help stop you getting tension headaches; but you can also keep it on hand to take at the first warning sign of a migraine, as the tincture can get into the bloodstream fast enough to stave it off.

Chamomile is known to be a good headache helper. It is naturally relaxing and can help with the upset stomach and nausea that migraines can cause. Because it is a mild sedative it can help a person relax during a headache, which often helps to ease the pain. There are different kinds of Chamomile, English and German being the most common; with the German variety being used the most often. It can be taken in pill form or drunk as tea. Chamomile is considered one of the safest herbs we use and is also great for easing menstrual aches and pains.

Sciatica, shingles, trapped nerves and general nerve pain all respond to the action of Hypericum (St John’s wort). The oil or tincture can be applied topically to the affected area and the tincture can be taken internally. Not only does it calm nerve pain quickly, but it can boost your mood at the same time as studies show that St John’s Wort is an effective antidepressant. For shingles, it has the added advantage of working against the virus that causes this painful condition. If you are prone to cold sores, it will help protect you against those too.

There are further remedies for specific types of pain. For many years Harpagophytum (Devil’s Claw) has been used as an anti-inflammatory. Additionally, there are no side effects connected to this remedy; it does not harm the stomach lining as many conventional anti-inflammatories do. Devil’s Claw, in both tincture and capsule form, is used for arthritic and rheumatic pains, being especially effective for rheumatoid arthritis as well as repetitive strain injury.

Another herb that is helpful for arthritis pain as well as back pain is ginger. Ginger is a delicious flavouring spice with warming effects. It increases circulation of the blood and lymph fluid. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a general pain killer, due to its ability to move “qi,” or energy. Ginger contains several chemical constituents which make it useful for pain, including zingabain. Ginger can help by taking it internally or using it externally as a compress on the painful area. Scientific studies have found that ginger is an extremely useful herb to ease pain and reduce swelling.

If you are looking for something to rub on the outside as well or instead of Devil’s Claw, try Arnica in gel form, made of organically grown flower heads from a sustainable source. Known for its effects on bruising for centuries, recent research has highlighted its effectiveness in reducing pain and inflammation in arthritic joints.

Finally, you can also use the good old earth’s natural “aspirins” for the pain of a headache and other general aches and pains. Willow bark and meadowsweet are the two most common herbs used instead of aspirin and won’t irritate the stomach like aspirin. In fact meadowsweet is used for the pain of stomach ulcers.

White willow bark can be used to relieve both chronic and acute pain and is therefore helpful in easing conditions from lower back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and neuralgia to headaches, toothache and menstrual pain. It is also effective in reducing fever, related to colds and influenza. The helpful ingredient in these herbs is salicin that turns into salicylic acid in the stomach that helps with the pain. It reduces the pain and/or eliminates the pain by reducing pain producing prostaglandins. (A good combination of anti-inflammatory herbs is Boswellia Plus).