Friday, June 19, 2009

Chinese Herbs for Pain


Recording artist T-Pain... could use some Chinese herbs.

For pain relief, most people think of acupuncture first, as they should. But Chinese herbs are very effective in combination with or separately from acupuncture. Here's a good overview of certain Chinese herbs that work well for pain.

There are a number of herbs in Chinese medicine that relieve pain by encouraging the blood flow and moving qi. Of these, Notoginseng, Red Peony, Curcuma rhizome (Turmeric), Ligusticum (Cnidium), Carthamus (Safflower), and Red Sage are some of the most frequently used herbs for encouraging the flow of blood and relieving pain. Notoginseng is probably the most famous for the treatment of pain and is also used to stop bleeding. Turmeric, Red Sage, and Red Peony are used for relieving pain, especially associated with various types of inflammation including, but not limited to arthritis.

The herbs referenced above are:
Notoginseng - 三七 San Qi
Red Peony - 赤芍 Chi Shao
Curcuma - 薑黃 Jiang Huang
Ligusticum - 川芎 Chuan Xiong
Carthamus - 紅花 Hong Hua
Red Sage - 丹參 Dan Shen

The whole article (by Thomas Avery Garran of Hawaii) is available here.

 

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