Joint discomfort is one of the most common complaints among adults in the United States, affecting 23% of all adults.
While there’s no cure for joint discomfort, its unfavorable symptoms can be successfully managed through proper care. One of the best methods to ease joint tension is through topical solutions, like lotions and creams.
There are plenty of options when it comes to joint cream, but some of them use chemicals that can feel irritating and harsh. Finding lotions that feel natural tend to be of higher quality, work more effectively, and are safer for the environment.
What is Joint Cream?
Joint tension and discomfort often involves swelling and tenderness in places like your fingers, toes, knees, or ankles.
One commonality between many forms of joint discomfort is that they can cause tension, stiffness, and tenderness. While there is no way to restore cartilage to the bones or completely prevent joint irritation, using topical creams are a fantastic way to alleviate some of the discomfort so you can get back to doing the things you love.
Joint lotions and joint creams work to provide temporary relief of symptoms with powerful soothing ingredients, with the main difference between lotions and creams being that
How Do Joint Creams and Lotions Work?
When it comes to joint discomfort, the main sources of soreness are irritation and tension. When your body is injured, your immune system will release white blood cells to surround and protect the area. The soreness is a way to let you know to keep that part of the body protected.
But for that occasional joint discomfort where this tension occurs for seemingly no reason, it’s useful to have a lotion that can soothe swelling and discomfort from occurring in the first place. This comes down to the types of ingredients that the lotion uses, and not all joint topicals are created equal.
Drawbacks of Chemical-Based Joint Creams
Many over the counter joint creams that you may buy in a drugstore or supplement store tend to be loaded with synthetic active ingredients. While some of these might help bring you relief, many of them can be irritating for sensitive skin types.
Not to mention, these creams tend to feel heavy and greasy, almost as if they are weighing you down after you apply them. So even if they do relieve joint discomfort, they may still cause discomfort in other ways.
Natural joint creams can be an effective alternative, as they often feel more lightweight, and are often actually nourishing to the skin thanks to botanical ingredients.
Natural Joint Support Remedies
The healing power of plants has been used for centuries, and modern medicine is giving us solid proof of their power to support our wellness.
Hemp
Hemp, often used interchangeably with CBD, is a compound that comes from the cannabis plant. Both hemp and CBD are non-psychoactive and won’t have any effect on your cognition. However, they are effective at helping to reduce the discomfort you may feel in your joints and muscles after a long day.
When you use a joint lotion that contains CBD, it interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system, which is a neuromodulatory system that plays important roles in regulating your sleep, appetite, and mood. But most importantly in terms of joint discomfort, this system can help regulate those sensations.
For joint discomfort, this can be extremely helpful in relieving tension and stiffness. However, it can be used in general areas of the body anytime you feel some tension or soreness.
Not to mention, CBD has some profound abilities to relieve stress, which is closely intertwined with joint and muscle tightness. Stubborn discomfort can cause immense stress, especially when the discomfort becomes increasingly unbearable. However, stress can also contribute to this tightness and discomfort by increasing muscle tension.
This cyclical dilemma can be broken by CBD joint creams as they work to soothe discomfort while also helping to bring calm and relaxation, especially when paired with aromatherapeutic botanicals like lavender.
Apothecanna’s Extra Strength Body Creme uses hemp-derived CBD in a powerful blend of other natural ingredients to relieve even the most stubborn aches with maximum coverage. It also feels soft and cooling compared to some chemical-based creams that are harsh and greasy.
Peppermint
You’ve probably chewed mint gum or had mint chocolate chip ice cream before, but have you ever thought about putting peppermint on your skin? It might be a good idea, especially if you have some joint discomfort.
Peppermint contains a compound called menthol, which is what gives mint its fresh, cooling sensation. When used in topical joint creams, this can feel refreshing and soothing to the skin.
But moreover, menthol can reduce swelling when applied externally. It can suppress irritation in similar ways to CBD, which makes it great for giving you a sense of relief in achy joints in the hands and feet.
Not to mention, peppermint oil has long been used as an essential oil in aromatherapy as well. Arthritis lotions that use it as an ingredient won’t just feel natural: they’ll smell natural, too! The minty aroma can help you relax and ease up mentally while it works to relax you physically.
Juniper
Juniper berry has been used for centuries for its wide range of benefits. But recently, it has become regarded for its ability to ease swelling.
Juniper berry can help soothe nerves as well. This makes it useful for nerve discomfort that often occurs alongside joint discomfort, but it can also help rejuvenate your hands or feet if you experience poor circulation or stiffness.
Benefits of Natural Joint Cream
In addition to feeling better on your skin, there are a large number of environmental benefits when it comes to using joint creams that are natural.
Better for the Environment
Joint creams with natural components can make you feel good on the outside. However, they can also make you feel good on the inside knowing that you’re using an ethical product that is pure, functional, and high-quality.
Large manufacturers that make chemical-based creams often contribute more pollution and use unsustainable ingredients. But the healing powers of nature are just as effective, if not more. And they exist on this earth to be responsibly harnessed by us.
At Apothecanna, we thoughtfully source organic and wildcrafted essential oils from their native regions of the world for a specific therapeutic purpose. We don’t use artificial ingredients, fillers, parabens, or GMOs, because we feel that natural ingredients are the best ingredients.
It means our joint creams will feel natural -- because they are natural.
Can Save You Money in the Long Run
Many people shy away from natural products because they tend to have a higher price tag.
The thing is, natural products may work faster and last longer, which will actually save you money in the long run. You may notice that your joint discomfort remains at bay for longer periods of time when using natural lotions, meaning you won’t need to apply it as often.
All-Around Benefits
Natural joint creams rarely use just a single ingredient to deliver benefits — here at Apothecanna, we take advantage of what nature has to offer by blending multiple active botanicals to create powerful formulas whose ingredients work in harmony to bring you relief.
The beneficial compounds working together this way are greater than the sum of their parts. When you pair soothing CBD with cooling peppermint and pain-relieving arnica, you have a team of botanicals all helping to boost each others’ benefits and bring you calming relief.
More Options
Nature is highly versatile, and the same ingredients that you’ll find in a joint cream can be used in other types of applications as well. So if you don’t love using creams, there are plenty of options that harness the same benefits.
For example, if you need relief in hard-to-reach areas like your back or shoulders, you can try an Extra Strength Body Spray. It packs the same natural active ingredients as the Extra Strength Body Creme into an easy-to-use spray that works just as effectively.
Or, if you want to treat yourself to a nice self-care day, there’s no better way to revive your tired joints and muscles than with a hot bath. You can take it to the next level by using Extra Strength Bath Soak, which combines soothing natural ingredients with dead sea salt to relax muscle cramps and epsom salt to reduce swelling.
In Conclusion
While there’s no way to avoid any and all joint discomfort forever, there are some ways to combat the stiffness, soreness, and tension so you can find temporary relief. And while many joint creams will work to do this, many synthetic-based options can also feel heavy on the skin or irritate certain skin types.
Using natural ingredients such as hemp can make a big difference. This is a compound that works beneath the surface to soothe discomfort and swelling. On top of that, it can relieve stress and make you feel better inside and out.
Other natural ingredients like juniper or peppermint can also help soothe nerves, reduce swelling, and calm the skin as well.
Using a natural joint cream has its benefits above chemical-based creams because they’re better for the environment, can save you money in the long run, are highly versatile in their different application methods, and have all-around benefits for other aspects besides just discomfort relief.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoarthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351925
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353648
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-acute-and-chronic-inflammation
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2828614/