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Castor oil has external benefits
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Castor beans, the source of oil useful in healing
Back in the days of the grandparents of many reading this, castor oil was for one thing: a spoonful of horrible stuff to blast your intestines into regularity. How many people, however, are aware that it possesses many qualities, when used externally, that are beneficial without causing fear and loathing? This article is to demonstrate one such purpose: relief of pain, reduction of scar tissue, and even of internal adhesion (scarring and overgrowth of tissue that often occurs following surgery).
A person who had numerous scars on her knee from repeated surgical procedures from the '70s to '80s wanted to get rid of the huge keloids that had formed. Keloids are extra scar tissue forming that often are dark purple, shiny, raised in profile, and looked like a snake on this woman's leg. Without the means for plastic surgery, she used a castor oil pack on the area. The other expected benefits were that the adhesions inside the knee, from internal scar tissue, would be also relieved in some way by such treatment. In addition it was expected that the oil would have an effect on the osteoarthritis of the knee.
Castor oil is known to increase circulation, which is the reason why it can be so good in such cases as this one. Stimulating blood flow to scar tissue as well as the joint, with the addition of heat, had quite an influence on the situation. For three days this knee was treated by the castor oil pack and heat combination. The keloid color improved and the tissue itself, which had been getting rough due to age, was becoming softened from the oil. The circulation was obviously increased, as shown by the reddish hue of the skin. The woman, who cycles and/or walks several miles daily, reported a decrease of pain in the knee joint. An additional benefit was that, in that (left) leg, she no longer experienced Restless Leg Syndrome as she previously did. Her exercise endurance also was increased, enabling her to lengthen her rides and walks daily. For a middle-aged woman, that is, itself, quite an achievement.
The woman decided to try the same method on other areas, such as a wrist suffering nerve damage from carpal tunnel syndrome. It took a few days but the improvement was enough to allow her to sleep pain-free. Another injury--to a thumb, from a work incident--which had not responded to other types of treatment, was also subjected to the castor oil pack. Again, it involved a few repeated applications, but the injured area responded well.
Needless to say, castor oil pack therapy is not recommended in every case--if there are cuts or other skin breaks, or in the event of pregnancy, for example. One must always be careful, as well, to avoid any accidental ingestion of the substance (the castor bean, after all, is the source of the deadly poison ricin), and it should be kept out of reach of pets. Wash the oil off your skin thoroughly with baking soda and water, then, just to be safe, wash again with soap and water. (Extra scrubbing never hurts in any case!)
Castor oil may have been something to run from a few generations back, but when used properly for external purposes it certainly should be considered as an aid for aching joints and scar tissue.
If you enjoyed this article, check out:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7281-Detroit-Alternative-Medicine-Examiner~y2009m11d5-Restless-leg-syndromeyet-another-thing-to-lose-sleep-over
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