Wintergreen

Wintergreen

Scientific name: Gaultheria procumbens

Part used: Distilled oil

In a word: Topical aspirin

Uses: Musculoskeletal inflammation, rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis, neck pain, whiplash injuries, chronic joint and muscle pain

When you happen unto wintergreen for the first time it is quite an interesting experience. A forest dweller, the little winter green plant hugs the ground closely. As you walk over it a distinct smell floats into the air. Some say the plant smells like toothpaste, others still say it smells like certain brands of chewing gum. Both are correct. The oil found in this little woodland plant has been extracted for nearly two hundred years to be used both in tooth powders and chewing gum! The smell is familiar but the medicinal uses of this plant have gone by the wayside.

The native Americans used wintergreen to treat all kinds of musculo-skeletal problems. It seems arthritis was common among them. They searched the field and forest for plants that could improve a sore neck or twisted up hand. They found that wintergreen, ground up and poulticed, would take the swelling and pain down from a joint or muscle. It could be used internally as a tea to speed the process on along. To the Native Americans wintergreen was tops when it came to inflammation.

The plant is called wintergreen, by the by, because it is an evergreen plant and holds its leaves year round. The Colonials had their share of aches and pains and quickly learned of this plant from the Native Americans. Soon they too were wrapping arthritic joints in wintergreen poultices to great effect! This colonial domestic medicine impressed the doctors arriving on the scene. Soon it became an official remedy.

Oil of wintergreen, when applied over sore muscles and joints, can provide the same relief as one would get from taking an aspirin.

As technology advanced, pharmacists were able to extract the oil that gave the plant its characteristic smell. Doctors began working with Oil of Wintergreen. They found that whereas just applying wintergreen leaves to a swollen part worked, applying the oil really worked. Pain and inflammation rapidly went away.

Aspirin is a well known anti-inflammatory and pain killer used in joint and muscle problems. Science has revealed that the key to wintergreen action is linked to the action of Aspirin. Wintergreen oil is comprised of a compound known as methyl salicylate, aspirin is salicylic acid. The two words sound similar because they are allied compounds. In both instances, the compounds inhibit the inflammatory process and the pain transmission process. Research has revealed that methyl salicylate is absorbed through the skin. When applied over sore muscles and joints one experiences the same relief as one would if one took an aspirin. Suffice it to say, the Native Americans knew what they were doing!

However, as is often the case, wintergreen oil contains other compounds which have a similar activity. When you use wintergreen oil, you are getting a powerful dose of anti-inflammatory medication! The best part is that it is easier on the stomach than many of the drugs used to treat joint and muscle inflammation!

Practitioners’ Advice

Preparations containing 10-60 Oil of Wintergreen are highly effective when it comes to sore muscles and joints. It seems the longer you use them, the more they work.. Wintergreen products can be used in chronic joint and muscle problems as in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. They can also be used in acute situations, as in when you over do it in the garden and end up laid up in bed for week with low back pain. In both instances, wintergreen rubs will make a difference.

Research has revealed that exercise and heat increase the amount of methyl salicylate which is absorbed into the body. Too much so. For this reason these preparations should not be applied before, during, or immediately following exercise and should not be applied while a heat pad is being used! Along these lines, because they are absorbed and act like aspirin, people sensitive to aspirin should forego using oil of wintergreen. As an example, people using blood thinners and those with bleeding disorders.