The health of your lower back, or lumbar region, is very important in helping you maintain a normal, pain-free life. When you have a lumbar sprain, you may experience significant back pain, with swelling, bruising and stiffness when you move. Arnica is a traditional herbal remedy that is used topically to help relieve the discomfort of aches and pains resulting from many ailments, including injury to your back. Discuss its use with your doctor to decide if arnica may be useful for you.
Causes
Your vertebral column is a very strong, bony structure in which individual vertebrae form joints. Bones in these joints are attached to each other by tough ligaments. If you fall, twist your back or are hit in the lumbar area with force, one or more vertebral joints may move abnormally, causing nearby ligaments to tear and produce a sprain. When this happens, you might feel a wrenching or popping in your lower back, followed by pain, swelling and difficulty moving.
Arnica
The arnica plant, or Arnica montana, is also called mountain tobacco. It is native to mountainous regions of Europe and Siberia and is also cultivated in the United States. A perennial plant, arnica produces daisy-like flowers that have medicinal properties. In herbal medicine, practitioners recommend topical application of arnica to help heal wounds, prevent surface infections, reduce bruising and relieve general aches and pains.
Properties
Arnica contains a natural compound called helenalin that is anti-inflammatory, suppressing swelling and pain caused by inflammation following an injury. Although arnica has not been studied specifically for lumbar pain, a paper published in "Advances in Therapy" in 2002 reported on a clinical trial of arnica for reduction of knee pain in human subjects. The authors concluded that arnica was effective in reducing pain and swelling. In another study in "Rheumatology International" in 2007, volunteers with hand pain found topical arnica as effective as a gel preparation containing ibuprofen in relieving their pain.
Recommendations and Precautions
Arnica is available from health food stores as a tincture or added to commercially prepared creams and ointments. Dilute an arnica tincture, one part arnica to 10 parts alcohol, and apply to your lumbar region two or three times daily. Creams and ointments usually contain 20 to 25 percent tincture and may also be applied two or three times daily. Do not take arnica internally and do not apply it to an open wound or irritated skin. Although considered safe, arnica may cause a allergic skin reaction and should be discontinued if this happens. Talk to your doctor about arnica before adding it to your regimen.
References
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: Sprains and Strains
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Arnica
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Arnica
- Advances in Therapy"; Arnica Montana Gel in Osteoarthritis of the Knee: An Open, Multicenter Clinical Trial; O. Knuesel et al.; 2002
- "Rheumatology International"; Choosing Between NSAID and Arnica for Topical Treatment...; R. Widrig et al.; April 2007
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