Natural Health: I strained my back. Ibuprofen has helped but there's still a dull ache...
Feldenkrais benefits people of all ages and levels of mobility. It can be particularly helpful in treating back pain, repetitive strain conditions, muscle and joint stiffness, and posture and balance correction
Muscle strain can take a disproportionately long time to heal, especially when it occurs in the back.
Boswellia serrata is an effective anti-inflammatory herb commonly used for natural pain relief. Clinical studies have proven it as powerful as ibuprofen and other over-the-counter pain relief. Due to its action in opening constricted blood vessels, it's often used to treat tension headaches and migraines.
Bromelain is another natural remedy for pain in areas where muscles connect to the joints. It reduces inflammation by breaking down fibrin, the substance responsible for localised swelling. It can be used separately or in conjunction with the Boswellia supplement.
In the long term, you might like to explore the Feldenkrais Method. Developed by Moshe Feldenkrais, this very gentle method enables you to release holding patterns and increase flexibility and coordination.
Feldenkrais benefits people of all ages and levels of mobility. It can be particularly helpful in treating back pain, repetitive strain conditions, muscle and joint stiffness, and posture and balance correction.
Pain, strain, stiffness, and tension are released by rediscovering the body's natural movements and design. The method helps with physical movement and improves emotional and mental well-being.
In a Feldenkrais awareness through movement (ATM) group class, you are first assisted in understanding your body before being guided through a series of gentle floor-based movements. These movements are designed to release muscular tension, helping to improve posture, breathing, balance and coordination.
The FI (functional integration) individual sessions aim to meet specific needs. A practitioner uses their hands to guide your body through a series of subtle movements to provide sensory feedback regarding your body's movement. Feldenkrais utilises slow and small movements to tune into the body and enable the brain to integrate the lessons more effectively.
Feldenkrais is all about using minimum effort to achieve maximum efficiency. Moshe Feldenkrais’s goal was "to make the impossible possible, the possible easy, and the easy elegant.”
Click here for more information or to find a local Feldenkrais practitioner.
The key to the type of oils is in your question. You refer to needing a little zest, and in fact, cold-pressed citrus essential oils are wonderful as a pick-me-up when it comes to flagging energy—both physical and mental.
Citrus oils have a bright profile and are often used in the home to uplift spirits and give a sense of cleanliness and freshness. The ones you choose should depend on your preference: mandarin, tangerine, pink grapefruit, and sweet orange are quite ‘sweet’, whereas white grapefruit, lime, and lemon are more intense and purifying in their scent quality.
If you want a gentler, floral note, you can choose citrus-based essential oils such as bergamot, may chang, petitgrain, or neroli (orange blossom). Other more unusual citrus oils, such as red mandarin and blood orange, can be more difficult to source but are worth the trouble.
Similar properties can be found in essential oils named after citrus, such as lemongrass, lemon myrtle, lemon-scented eucalyptus, lemon-scented tea tree, and even citronella – although this last one is usually reserved for keeping biting insects at bay.
