Top 6 Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation

Published 17th Oct 2023

Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation

From arthritis and skin inflammations to muscle pain and headaches, pain and inflammation can occur in a variety of ways and can severely impact everyday living.

To help ease the tension, there are some essential oils for pain and inflammation that are known to help soothe, relax, and relieve areas of inflammation.


Benefits Of Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation

Some essential oils contain anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and analgesic properties that are known to help reduce pain and inflammation throughout the body. As such, using essential oils for pain and inflammation may help alleviate the following:

  • Headaches
  • Muscle and joint pain
  • Neuropathic pain
  • Arthritis and chronic inflammation
  • Cramps
  • Inflamed skin conditions

Best Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation

Pain and inflammation can surface in a variety of ways and ailments. Below are some of our best essential oils for pain and inflammation:

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender Essential Oil has a range of versatile properties and is known to assist with reducing pain and inflammation. In addition to its incredibly calming aroma, Lavender Oil contains anti-inflammatory properties that have been seen to help with pain relief according to a 2015 study. It is also known for alleviating headaches, migraines and any associated inflammation.

In addition, Lavender Oil is also believed to have antispasmodic abilities that may relieve menstrual cramping. The powerful analgesic properties further work to help increase blood circulation while reducing muscle soreness.

How To Use Lavender Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

You can dilute your Lavender Essential Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. For those who are experiencing headaches, you can add your diluted Lavender Oil to a glass roller bottle and apply to the temples. We recommend a 2-4% dilution when applied topically and a 1-2% dilution for facial application.

Chamomile Roman Essential Oil

With a sweet, well-balanced aroma, Chamomile Roman Essential Oil is one of the oldest remedies used and is known to help relieve pain and inflammation. In fact, a 2010 study found that chamomile is not only known to relieve muscle, joint and rheumatic pain with its antiphlogistic abilities, it has also been seen to treat various inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema.

As one of the best essential oils for pain and inflammation, Chamomile Roman Oil may relieve inflammation when used topically.

How To Use Chamomile Roman Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

You can dilute your Chamomile Roman Essential Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. For those who are experiencing headaches, you can add your diluted Chamomile Oil to a glass roller bottle and apply to the temples. We recommend a 2-4% dilution when applied topically and a 1-2% dilution for facial application

Ginger Essential Oil

Ginger has been used remedially for thousands of years and is known to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. A 2016 study recognised the use of Ginger Essential Oil to relieve arthritis, while a 2013 study found that its antioxidant properties may be useful in reducing both acute and chronic inflammation.

Ginger Oil is known to relieve muscle soreness, spasms and tightness. It may also be helpful for back pain relief, arthritis and menstrual cramping.

How To Use Ginger Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

  • Warm Bath: Adding a few drops of Ginger Oil to a warm bath is known to help with inflammation such as sore muscles, headaches and menstrual cramping.
  • Diluting: You can dilute your Ginger Essential Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. We recommend a 2-4% dilution when applied on skin, or a 1% dilution for facial application.

Bergamot Essential Oil

The citrus, floral aroma of Bergamot Essential Oil is known to provide remedial relief and is one of the best essential oils for reducing pain and inflammation. With its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, Bergamot Oil is believed to aid respiratory issues and assist with pain relief. In fact, a 2015 study found that Bergamot Oil had the potential to relieve neuropathic pain and arthritis.

How To Use Bergamot Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

You can dilute your Bergamot Essential Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. For those who are experiencing headaches, you can add your diluted Bergamot Oil to a glass roller bottle and apply to the temples.

Sweet Basil Essential Oil

Sweet Basil Essential Oil is known to be a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent; this makes it one of the best essential oils for pain and inflammation. As such, using Sweet Basil Oil may help relieve muscle and joint pain, spasms, gout and cramping.

How To Use Sweet Basil Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

You can dilute Sweet Basil Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. For those who are experiencing headaches, you can add your diluted Basil Oil to a glass roller bottle and apply to the temples. We recommend a 2-4% dilution when applying on the skin and a 1% dilution when applying to the face.

Alternatively, you can add a few drops in a warm bath to help relieve muscle soreness and tightness.

Orange Sweet Essential Oil

The citrusy-sweet aroma of Orange Sweet Essential Oil is known for its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, making it one of the best essential oils for pain and inflammation.

The B-Myrcene, Citronellol and Linalool components of Orange Sweet Oil are known for their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic abilities. As such, Orange Sweet Oil is known to increase blood circulation, relieve cramping, alleviate swelling in the joints, muscle pain, and arthritic pain.

How To Use Orange Sweet Essential Oil for Pain and Inflammation

You can dilute your Orange Sweet Essential Oil in a carrier oil and apply it as a massage oil. For those who are experiencing headaches, you can add your diluted Orange Sweet Oil to a glass roller bottle and apply to the temples.


Dilution Guidelines

Essential oils are extremely concentrated and potent. Therefore, when using essential oils for pain and inflammation, it’s important to use carrier oils to dilute your essential oils before applying on the skin. Some of our favourite carrier oils include:

For safe topical application when using essential oils for pain and inflammation, we generally recommend using a 2-4% dilution for skin application and a 1-2% dilution for facial application. However, it is important to note that this may vary according to the essential oil being used.

Please consult with your doctor, health professional or a certified aromatherapist before using essential oils if pregnant or breastfeeding.

How to dilute essential oils. Essential oils dilution guide.

Other Tips for Pain and Inflammation Relief

When seeking relief for pain and inflammation in other areas outside of essential oils, you can consider the following:

  • Cold/heat packs
  • Paracetamol
  • Physical therapy
  • Remedial massages
  • Yoga

Where To Buy Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation

While essential oils are generally available to purchase at health, wellness and retail stores, it is important to keep in mind that the purity and quality of these essential oils will vary. That is why we recommend finding a reputable supplier.

Here at AWO, we have a wide selection of 100% pure essential oils and organic essential oils that are sold at reasonable prices. Because our stock is purchased in bulk quantities our costs are significantly less, which allows us to offer our high-quality products at affordable prices. We are also based right here in Australia!

Essential oils for pain and inflammation

Essential Oil Safety

Whilst essential oils are natural products, they are extremely potent and can cause serious harm if used incorrectly. For this reason, we recommend the following:

  • In line with the Therapeutic Goods Act, we do not recommend ingesting essential oils without the guidance of a registered Aromatherapist or Naturopath.
  • Avoid using essential oils during pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding.
  • We recommend storing your essential oils in a cool, dry place at room temperature, ensuring that they are not directly exposed to sunlight and are out of reach of children or pets.
  • Essential oils can be very concentrated and are likely to cause irritation or reactions if applied directly to the skin. For this reason, it is important to first dilute your essential oils before using topically (on the skin). Our recommended dilution percentages can be found under the ‘Best Essential Oils For Pain and Inflammation’ section.

Resources

Babar Ali et al, 2015, ‘Essential used in aromatherapy: a systematic review’, Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 601 - 611.

Essential oils used in aromatherapy: A systemic review - ScienceDirect

Bagetta, G., et al, 2015, ‘Preclinical evidence for rational use of bergamot essential oil in pain trials’, Planta Medica, vol. 81.

Thieme E-Journals - Planta Medica / Abstract (thieme-connect.com)

Funk, J.L., et al, 2016, ‘Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Essential Oils of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis’, PharmaNutrition, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 123 - 131.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Essential Oils of Ginger ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe ) in Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis - PubMed (nih.gov)

Jeena, K., Liju, V.B., & Kuttan R., 2013, ‘Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of essential oil from ginger’, Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 51 - 62.

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of essential oil from ginger - PubMed (nih.gov)

Silva, G.L. et al, 2015, ‘Antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of lavender essential oil’, Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 1397 - 1408.

Antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of lavender essential oil - PubMed (nih.gov)

Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S., 2010, Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Molecular medicine reports, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 895 – 901.

Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future (nih.gov)

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness.

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