Homemade Joint & Muscle Massage Oil

Homemade Joint & Muscle Massage Oil

Do you have joints or muscles that hurt?  Joints that just ache, muscles that hurt from overuse or strain?  I do.  My hands, my thumb joint on my right hand, and my back are the worst.  My husband will massage my hand for me at night, which is where my thoughts turned to making a wonderful massage oil.  How much better it would feel with healing oils, herbs and spices to just soak right in there where it's needed the most, to help the healing and repairing along.  Let me say that there's something to be said about the said healing properties of herbs.  The commercial rubs just aren't that helpful.

So, I did my homework, and came up with this fabulous healing herb massage oil.  It's designed to target the problem, and get right in there to work on what's ailing you.  Make some for yourself, or click the button right at the bottom of this post.


The information about the benefits and properties of all the following ingredients has been verified from either the manufacturers, and/or other trusted internet sites such as WebMD and Wikipedia:

Carrier Oils:

• Sweet Almond Oil - excellent penetrating qualities and good spread-ability on the skin, making it ideal as a massage oil.
• Macadamia Nut Oil - is a protective oil with a high absorption rate which makes it a wonderful carrier oil for the ingredients in this product.
• Castor Oil - Acts as a humectant as it draws moisture to itself.  It breaks up external/internal scar tissue.

I combined these three oils, placed them in a heat safe glass container, and put that container in water in the top of a double boiler. I then added the four dried herbs to the warming oils and just let them infuse for several hours.  I then strained the oil through cheesecloth into another container.

Herbs being gently infused

Herbs by infusion:

• Comfrey - is wonderful for broken bones, sore joints and pulled muscles.  It has been used by the Indians for over 2000 years and is still used today.  It is thought to have a healing effect and reduce inflammation when applied to the skin.
• Solomon’s Seal - It is used for arthritis and muscle pain, it helps repair connective tissues.  Solomon's seal is used to reduce swelling (inflammation),  can be applied directly to the skin for bruises, ulcers, or boils on the fingers, hemorrhoids, skin redness, and water retention (edema).
• Arnica - is a well known pain reliever, and helps reduce bruising and swelling like magic!  It is used in liniment and ointment preparations for strains, sprains, and bruises.  A few clinical trials suggest benefits of topical arnica for osteoarthritis.
• St. John’s Wort - is an anti-inflammatory herb for topical use, it relieves pain and calms the affected area.

From upper left clockwise:
Solomon's Seal Root, Arnica,
Comfrey, St Johns Wort  

One of the helpful websites that I learned about some specific dried herbs for this purpose, and the infusion process was Real Food Outlaws .  Sarah made a salve, I wanted a massage oil.  Thank you Sarah for your informative post!

After the straining was complete, and the oils had somewhat cooled, I then added the following essential oils, mixed the formula well, and poured the solution into the final container for use.

Essential Oils:

• Basil - warms the skin and acts as a muscle relaxant.
• Camphor -used topically to increase local blood flow, it stimulates nerve endings that relieve symptoms of pain when applied.
• Cinnamon - increases the flow of blood to the surrounding area, in turn, aiding in the healing process. 
• Eucalyptus - is used for relieving osteoarthritis and joint pain, has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.  
• Ginger - may have a role in treating arthritis pain, can be rubbed into achy joints as part of massage therapy.
• Lavender -is effective in the relief of joint and muscle pain.
• Lemongrass - is anti-inflammatory, dilates blood vessels, can improve circulation, regenerate and revitalize.
• Menthol - is known as a counter irritant.  It works by causing the skin to feel cool and then warm. This increases blood flow to the area, thereby improving circulation, which, in turn, aids in healing.
• Peppermint - cools the skin and acts as a catalyst to other herbs.
• Rosemary -  helps with circulation and relaxes muscles.
• Wintergreen - warms the skin and has a cortisone-effect on muscle and joint inflammation.

I have been using this on my hand up to three times a day.  I was even a bit skeptical as to whether this would truly help.  But, to my amazement, it has!  So much so that I'm not aware of the discomfort unless I actually press on, strain, or overuse the affected area.  The general all over dull ache in my hand is no longer present when I use the product.   If I stop for a couple days, it does return, for now, anyway.  Forever hopeful!  

Beautiful Stuff!!

UPDATE - I used this as a muscle rub last week, and I was so surprised at how quickly the knotted muscle released and the pain disappeared, actually just overnight!  I typically suffer for days with my back spasms.  Great stuff!

UPDATE NO. 2 - Last night I was plagued by a sinus headache which was keeping me awake much longer than I wished, so, I took this massage oil and gave myself a sinus massage.  I was careful to keep it away from my eyes.  It was very soothing, and relieved the pain enough to allow me to get some sleep.  Upon awakening this morning, I realized I still had the headache, but was happy to have gotten some good rest!

Carpe Diem! Lil and Bill