Herbal Liniment For Injuries And Arthritis Reduces Inflammation & Pain

Traditional use for this herbal liniment is in martial arts for pains of muscles and joints, arthritis, strains, bruises, contusions, and sprains. It contains extracts and tinctures of a number of herbs long revered in traditional Chinese medicine, in a base of Alcohol.

This liniment is a powerful tool that can be used to speed healing and reduce possible complications. The herbs help to reduce inflammation and swelling while breaking up accumulations of blood and fluids, and restoring normal circulation to the injured area. It is pleasantly aromatic!

I have studied martial arts for many years and can tell you that liniments were essential to preventing long term damage and crucial to returning to normal training as soon as possible after injury. Common areas of application are hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and feet, but can be applied to the neck and used with massage and acupressure.

The liniment is easy to apply. Just pour a small quantity of liniment into a small dish, dip your fingers into the dish and massage into painful or injured areas. There is no skin irritating menthol or chemicals to mask pain. It is truly an herbal formula that works.

The herbal liniment comes in a generous 3.4 fluid ounce bottle. The herbal liniment lasts a long time because once the herbs have been extracted into alcohol, they do not go bad, especially when stored in a cool place out of sunlight. Traditionally, the longer it sits, the better, however, there may be expiration dates – not sure why.

This herbal liniment is great for pain relief, although, you need to rub it in for chronic problems, and not just pat it on the surface. If it is a new bruise, you can rub very lightly, however, using it to work the area provides better results. The bottle is easy to carry to the gym, work, or a sporting event and has a pleasant herbal scent. It reminds me of the traditional formula I used for bruises and long term techniques like iron palm and iron arm. We used it not only to reduce bruises, swelling and pain, but to help strengthen the bones, muscles and tendons.

The smell of the formula indicates right away the authenticity of the formula. The formula I used for years contained 72 different herbs that was “battle tested” and modified over generations. Eventually, some of the herbs had to be omitted or replaced due to availability and other issues. But we would take a formula, written in Chinese, to Chinatown to get the herbs in a package. We would then mix it with the appropriate amount of alcohol, usually Vodka, the bury it the ground for up to 1 year; at least 6 months.

Typically, there is some herbal residue at the bottom of the bottle because you don’t want it filtered too much, and it leaves some of the herbs to further strengthen the formula. Great for arthritic hands. While this is not as strong as what I used, it is strong enough for all applications. Typically, you do want to pour it into a small plate – we used to use the ceramic Chinese spoons, which we would also use for Gua Sha treatments; the liniment goes on after that treatment. The spoons are cost effective compared to some of the fancy tools they have now.

The liniment needs to be applied frequently to be effective. The aromatic oils and alcohol used to extract the herbal ingredients aid in penetration into the skin and muscle tissue, tend to evaporate quickly. Often, when treating substantial injuries such as, sprains or tendinitis, a poultice can be made by wrapping gauze or a clean cloth around the injured area, or a gauze pad with the edges tapped down and wet the cloth or gauze with the liniment until it soaks down to the skin. Cover with an elastic bandage or pad and leave on for several hours.

How To Apply Herbal Liniment

Bruises: Place a small amount of herbal liniment in your palm and pat it gently into the injured area to help it penetrate. Use your thumb or 3 fingers to massage sore spots and break up lumps or accumulations. Begin lightly and gradually work the liniment in deeper as the pain is relieved.

Muscle Pulls (Strains): Massage the liniment into the knots in the muscle and try to break them up by following the direction of the muscle fibers, then massage into the muscle attachments. For example, for a pulled biceps muscle: pat liniment into the painful area then use the thumb to massage in circles around the sore area. Use the thumb to break up knots by massaging up toward the shoulder and down toward the elbow. Finally, massage the liniment into the crease of the elbow where the tendon attaches and into the shoulder where the tendon attaches.

Sprains (Ligament or Joint): Massage liniment gently into injured area. Start at the edge of any swelling and rub small circles around the edge with your thumb or fingertips. Apply more liniment and slowly work gently into the swollen area. Finally, apply more liniment and use your fingertips to direct the circles gently outward from the center to push the fluids away from the swollen area.

Cautions & Contraindications: Contraindicated during pregnancy. Not for internal use, eyes, genitals or mouth.