Fibromyalgia is a common yet debilitating condition for which there’s no known cure. Typical symptoms include aching all over the body, chronic fatigue, stiffness, muscle pain, headaches and localized tenderness and soreness.
It can affect any part of the body, but the most commonly affected areas are the back, neck, hands, shoulders and pelvis.
As there’s no cure for fibromyalgia, sufferers face living with these symptoms for life and so look to ways of easing the symptoms. There are several natural ways of doing this, one of which is to use essential oils for fibromyalgia treatment which we’ll look at here.
The best essential oils for fibromyalgia
Because of the nature of the condition, the best essential oils for fibromyalgia are those with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties such as lavender, peppermint and thyme.
In addition, because fibromyalgia can be a distressing and stressful condition, essential oils with relaxing and stress-relieving properties can also be used to treat the emotional side of living with fibromyalgia.
And you can also use essential oils with characteristics that promote peaceful sleep to help you at night times too.
One thing to be aware of is that massage can sometimes be painful for fibromyalgia sufferers, not necessarily at the time of massage but often the next day so you should take care if using massage to apply the oils.
If massage does prove to be an issue, then stick to diffusing the oils, adding them to your bath, or using a compress. And, as always with essential oils, you should only use therapeutic grade oils and you should patch test before use.
Suggested essential oils for pain relief
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Chamomile
Chamomile oil is soothing and has anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce swelling and relieve pain.
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Clary sage
Clary sage oil relaxes the nerves and aids in the prevention of muscle cramps. It also helps ease back and joint pain.
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Eucalyptus
Another excellent anti-inflammatory oil, eucalyptus is also analgesic and is a great massage oil for the relief of joint and back pain.
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Helichrysum
Helichrysum is a very effective essential oil for fibromyalgia due to its ability to promote nerve healing. It also promotes the healing of muscle tissue and the joints too.
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Lavender
Lavender oil is well-known for its pain relieving qualities. It’s great for alleviating both joint and muscle pain.
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Peppermint
The cooling nature of peppermint oil makes it very soothing when applied to painful and/or inflamed areas. Topical application of peppermint oil has been proven to provide very effective relief from the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
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Thyme
Thyme essential oil is antispasmodic and is often used for treating arthritis pain. It helps to stimulate blood flow and ease pain. It’s particularly effective when used as a massage oil to treat muscle pain.
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Sweet marjoram
Sweet marjoram oil has a long history of being used for pain relief from muscle and joint pains, either as a massage oil or by adding it to baths.
Suggested essential oils for stress and anxiety relief
- Clary Sage
- Frankincense
- Grapefruit
- Jasmine
- Lavender
- Neroli
- Sandalwood
- Ylang Ylang
Suggested essential oils for peaceful sleep
- Bergamot
- Clary Sage
- Frankincense
- Jasmine
- Lavender
- Sweet Marjoram
- Neroli
- Roman Chamomile
Essential oil recipes for fibromyalgia
Lavender and peppermint essential oil blend
Blending a few drops of lavender oil with a few drops of peppermint oil creates a mix with high anti-inflammatory properties that will not only reduce pain but also fatigue. It can be applied topically, with a carrier oil such as sesame oil, to areas that are experiencing extreme pain and gently massaged in.
Eucalyptus and rosemary massage oil
Eucalyptus essential oil is good for fibromyalgia due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It also makes a good massage oil due to the way it warms when rubbed in. You can create a massage oil by mixing 3 drops of eucalyptus oil and 3 drops of rosemary oil together with 1 oz of sweet almond oil. Pour the mix into a spray bottle and spray onto the painful areas and then gently massage in for several minutes.
Essential oil recipes for peaceful sleep
You can make a very simple essential oil blend that can be sprinkled on your pillow to help you get a peaceful night’s sleep. Mix 3 drops of clary sage oil and 3 drops of bergamot oil together with 8 drops of Roman chamomile oil in a bottle. Then simply add 2 or 3 drops of this mixture to your pillow when you go to bed.
If you like to have a nice warm bath before you go to sleep, you can add 3 drops of lavender oil and 2 drops of ylang ylang oil to your bath and mix them in to the bath water. Then submerge yourself in the bath, close your eyes and relax as you breathe in the scent.
Of course you can use other blends of oils in the bath too. Just experiment with those oils known to help with relaxation and sleep and see which work best for you personally. As usual, you should be careful when experimenting with essential oils that you’ve not used before as some of them can trigger allergies.
You can also apply the oils through massage or an essential oil diffuser too.
Summary
Fibromyalgia is a debilitating condition for which there’s no known cure. Using essential oils for fibromyalgia treatment as described above can help to alleviate the physical symptoms, and can also help to reduce the mental issues and stresses that come with living with fibromyalgia.
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