Many of us associate castor oil as a thick, tasteless edible oil to relieve constipation or for beauty remedies such as applying to lashes for thicker growth, rubbing into the scalp for hair growth, softening corns to wound healing. However, knee pain due to osteoarthritis in particular may find that castor oil when applied topically may help bring relief.
Though more research is still needed, the reason castor oil has great potential for arthritis joint pain is due to its castor beans, which main fatty acid consists of 90% ricinoleic acid. What is special about ricinoleic acid is that it can help fight swelling and pain caused from inflammation in how it strengthens the body’s anti-inflammatory properties and improves circulation.
How to Apply and Use Castor Oil to Arthritic Knees for Pain Relief
For the best results, combining castor oil with heat intensifies the benefits according to several published studies. Therefore, you can use clean pieces of wool or cotton flannel fabric to soak the castor oil for the application.
- Take a clean empty bowl or container (a plastic gallon ice cream bucket works for this purpose) for pouring in some castor oil.
- Next, cut the length of wool or cotton into squares or strips that will fit the area of your knee pain. You’ll need enough material because you want about three or four equal pieces for each knee so keep that in mind.
- After the cut pieces are saturated with the castor oil, you will need to pull them out one at a time. This is a messy process so have some paper towels handy if you use your fingers or grab it out with tongs if have a pair. You can gently squeeze the excess castor oil before removing it and apply each layer directly to those hurting joints and cover the area securing it with cling wrap. Place a hot water bottle or your electric heating pad over the knees. I like to place a thin towel down first over my knees before grabbing the hot water bottle or the heating pad, which is more comfortable in my opinion. Leave this castor oil treatment for osteoarthritis on for about an hour and it can be done once a day.
- When you’re finished with that daily knee pain treatment, you can reuse the same pieces of soaked material by storing them in a zip-lock freezer bag and placing them in the refrigerator until next time.
- A second method is pouring a small amount of warm castor oil into the palms of your hands and massaging it into your knee area by working the liquid in using circular motions.
This post is not meant to diagnose or solve a medical condition, only your physician can do that. The information shared on how to use castor oil for arthritis pain relief is only intended as another resource that could help better your life.
