AROMATHERAPY

Methods Of Treating Injury

HEAT

HeatWhen heat is applied to an area of the body it dilates the capillaries and increases blood flow. Blood nourishes the tissues and can hasten healing, reduce muscular spasm and reduce pain, but applying heat does carry the risk of seepage of blood and plasma to the injured area.

If this were to happen healing would be prolonged and swelling and fluid retention would be increased. It is important therefore that heat is not applied to an injured area until at least twelve hours has passed.

COLD

Cold causes contraction of the small capillaries and this decreases the amount of blood collecting around a wound - which could prolong the healing ti8me. The application of cold to an area of injury reduces bruising, swelling, inflammation and pain.

RICE 

Rest, ice, compresses and elevationm' are words so often repeated by physiotherapists and sports therapists that they ahve been shortned to form the word 'Rice' which is drummed into anyone with an injury that needs care.

REST

Resting an injury is extremely important to assure that no further damage takes place. And when you are adv ised to rest, that doesn't mean don't  go danc in g next Friday night, but rest now - immediately!

ICE

The ice methods are so helpful in treating all sorts of injury that they are referred to throughout this book, not only for the treatment of sports injuries. Ice can stop internal bleeding, bruises and inflammation and in so doing decreases healing time, if applied correctly.

There are many methods. The polystyrene cup method enables you to hold the ice to a specific part of the body without freezing your hands. Fill a polystyrene cup with water and freeze it.

When it is required , cut the sides a few inches to reveal a solid block of ice, which can be applied to the injured area.ice may also be placed in a bowls or buckets into which you put the toes, feet, fingers, hands or elbow, and other areas of the body affected. Top up as required.

In physiotherapy departments ice is often put into a polythene bag, crushed and then placed between two towels and wrapped around the injured area.

Although this method has to be used in some circumstances, the dripping wet towels can be most uncomfortable.Whichever method you use, apply the ice to the injured area for at least twenty minutes, then allow twenty minutes' rest before repeating the application. Continue in this way for three to four hours.

COMPRESS

A compress can be made with a bandage or a piece of material, folded to form a pad. This should be wrapped firmly over the area to prevent swelling.

Compresses can be hot or cold. Compression is often needed to reduce the level of blood flowing to the area but should never be so tight that it decreases circulation and causes the injured person to experience pain, numbness or the skin turning blue.

ELEVATION

By raising the injured limb higher than the heart, swelling and pain can often be prevented or lessened. Elevation is espcially important for dancers. Use whatever you have handy to support the limb-pillows, cushions or whatever.

OINTMENTS

An ointment can be made which provides a carrier for the essential oils. In some cases the essential oils are more effective when used during a sporting activity in this way, than when used in a vegetable oil base.

Make the basic ointment in the following way. Using the bain-marie method, blend 50gms of anhydrous lanolin and 30ml almond oil.

(This will give a total of 90ml.) When well blended together, mix in your essential oils. Essential oil formulas are given for individual injuries and conditions which can be combined in this basic ointment.

MASSAGE OILS

As a general rule, use 1 drop of essential oil to each millilitre of base vegetable oil. In the acute stage of injury, however a higher dose may be needed than prescribed here.

This may be up to double the usual amount. When the acute stage has passed, revert to the 1-1 rule.

COMPRESSES

During the acute stage of injury, unless specific directions have been given, use a total of 8 drops of esential oil on the compress - whether that is hot, cold, wet or steamed.

CABBAGE LEAF

Iron a cabbage leaf (see page 92) and leave it on the affected area while still warm. Appy for ten minutes and repeat if necessary.

CLAY POULTICE

Add 2 tablespoons of green clay to hot or cold water and blend until a thick and sticky paste is achieved. Then add the essential oils and mix well. Apply to the area and wrap with a bandage or piece of muslin.

MASSAGE or MOVEMENT CARE

Massage is extremely effective in the treatment of muscular spasm and contrction, and used in sports injuries it can reduce fluid retention and swelling while stimulating blood circulation and lympathic flow.

Massage should always be gentle. Long, gentle smooth strokes are most useful for sports injuries. Use the flat of the hand, moving away from the injured part, but always in the direction of the heart - from hand to shoulder, foot to thigh, and so on. 

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

Assertive Oils For Sports, Dance and Work-Outs - 2

If you want to build yourself up, make up another bottle using 15 bdrops of eucalyptus and 15 drops of rosemary to 39ml base vegetable oil and use it in addition, every day for twq weeks, as an all-over body rub after the shower, after your run.If you want to build yourself up, make up another bottle using 15 bdrops of eucalyptus and 15 drops of rosemary to 39ml base vegetable oil and use it in addition, every day for twq weeks, as an all-over body rub after the shower, after your run.

When you use the following competition oil bear in mind that the essential oils have an effect on the psyche too, and inhale the aroma deeply. The formula should be reserved for the occasion of the big race because aroma sensitivity can become jaded and you want the rarity value to give you that extra boost.

The oil strengthens the muscular system and keeps the rhythm of the body flowing so that peak performance becomes easier. Rub the mixture all over your body before the event.

Runners' Competition Oil

Geranium oil provides an excellent remedy for 'jogger's nipple' which is caused by the action of material rubbing on the nipple for long periods of time. The discomfort suffered by long distant male runners, as well aaaas by women in all sports, can be quite considerable.Geranium oil provides an excellent remedy for 'jogger's nipple' which is caused by the action of material rubbing on the nipple for long periods of time.

The discomfort suffered by long distant male runners, as well aaaas by women in all sports, can be quite considerable.Clearly, all sportswomen should wear a good-fitting bra, but for all who have developed this probolem the answer is to add 5 drops of geranium oil to a teaspoon of vegetable oil and rub this around the area each day, especially before and after the sporting activity.The thrust of competition has always fuelled the determination of sportspeople to find preparations that will help their performance and keep their body in peak condition.

In days past athletes bathed in mint and balm to strengthen muscles and sinews, while today it is more likely to be baths to which the essential oils of ginger and black pepper have been added.

Nasturtium seed oil was used widely to ease tired, post-race muscles, whereas today physiotherapists and sports therapists choose eucalyptus oil, birch oil, wintergreen, tea tree or rosemary oils.

But Nasturtium seed oil is still an excellent muscle decongestant, and although it is no longer generally available you can make uyour own.

Crush a handful of nasturtium seeds in a pestle and mortar and add them to 250ml soya bean oil. Leave this to stand for seven days, filter, and use as required. Natural remedies go hand-in-hand with the standard methods of treating sports injuries and maintaining the well-being of the body which sport pushes to the limits of endurance, stamina and skill.

These methods are outlined in the next pages, and thereafter yyou will find various essential oil remedies and suggestions that will help you to be a winner in your particular field.

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

Assertive Oils For Sports, Dance and Work-OutsAssertive Oils For Sports, Dance and Work-Outs

Wheteher you are a dance who wants to keep supple or a runner who wants to win the race, the essential oils have something for you. They not only treat sports injuries but relieve pain and help to keep the muscles toned. They improv e circulation and also protect you from other people's germs while in the close confines of the communal locker room. But they also help in the all important mental area too, improving concentration and giving a positivity that can mean the difference between winning and losing.

Wheteher you are a dance who wants to keep supple or a runner who wants to win the race, the essential oils have something for you. They not only treat sports injuries but relieve pain and help to keep the muscles toned. They improv e circulation and also protect you from other people's germs while in the close confines of the communal locker room. But they also help in the all important mental area too, improving concentration and giving a positivity that can mean the difference between winning and losing.

It is extraordinary that somethin g as gentle as the essential oils can be assertive as well, but they can. Indeed, their varied positive effects on the psyche as well as on the physical body make them an excellent therapy for all who push their body to the outer limits in the challange of sport or the art of dance.This is not to say that the oils aren't strong (the v erruca you caught in the changing room had better look out), but we are here talking about a wide range of qualities from a variety of precious oils.

Although sport is thought of as a healthy activity, sports centres should display a large sign on their door; 'Sport can be injurious to your health.' Tennis elbow is probably the most obvious sports injury but that is only one manifestation of repetitive strain syndrome which collectively desc ribes a range of injuries.

The problem begins with the nature of the sport, which may involve making the same movement repeatedly. The scope for this is enormous- serving at tennis, lifting a leg over hurdles, throwing a ball in baseball, hitting with the bat in cric ket, swinging the club on the golf c ourse or doing the butterfly stroke.The problem begins with the nature of the sport, which may involve making the same movement repeatedly.

The scope for this is enormous- serving at tennis, lifting a leg over hurdles, throwing a ball in baseball, hitting with the bat in cric ket, swinging the club on the golf c ourse or doing the butterfly stroke.Using the same muscle or area of the body to make the same movement over and over again is also the result of personal style and that can be difficult to change. - and if you were winning you wouldn't want to change it.Dancers have no choice; they must move their leg or arm in a very exact way, whether there is pain or not, for the audience is watching.

The various manifestations of repeetitive strain syndrome may be treated as described for tennis elbow on page 91. Before reading that section, however, refer to pages 88-92 where the methods employed in that section, and elsewhere in this chapter, are described in detail.

Injuries are often the result of over-extending oneself, and this in turn can be caused by the need to achieve the 'high' created by endorphin release. The very real sense of well-being given by these natural opiates is fine when it gives you the incentive to get up on a frosty winter morning and go for your two-mile daily jog, but it becomes destructive when it ac ts like a drug and more and more exercise is needed to create the same lev el of 'high'. This is when people over-extend and a part of the nody becomes strained.

So do remember that moderation is best in all things-exercise included.Professional sportsmen and women are not interested in moderationm - winning is the name of the game - but for them essential oils have prov ed extremely helpful over the years. Indeed, I doubt that there has been an Olympic games at which essential oils wern't used ewither in preparatory or recovery treatments.We can't all hope to win gold medals on the running track but jogging is an activity many people enjoy, and it's an easy sport for families to do together.

It is important when starting out not to over-exert yourself because pounding those pavements puts great strain on muscles, ankle bones and the skeletal frame, especially the lower back.Here then is a formula for people who are just learning about the strains of jogging and whic h is especially helpful for the skeletal frames. before you go running rub the oil over your feet,ankles, calves, thighs, buttocks, lower bac k and arms. The thyme will help to prevent strains.

Running Formula For Beginners

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood

BURN-OUT

Well, you've done it. You've worn yourself to a frazzle and the cells that haven't seized up have gone on strike. The plant has been shut down. Congratulations! Instead of charging around achieving four things at one, rising at five amand working until ten at night, you're now incapacitated by an overwhelming tiredness.Well, you've done it. You've worn yourself to a frazzle and the cells that haven't seized up have gone on strike. The plant has been shut down. Congratulations! Instead of charging around achieving four things at one, rising at five amand working until ten at night, you're now incapacitated by an overwhelming tiredness.Relaxation is impossible as your mind goes around in circles, getting nowhere fast.

You seem to ba a different person and you are beginning to wonder if you're cracking up. Your energy is completely and utterly depleted and you wonder if you will be able to get the milk in off the doorstep,let alone get through the day.Burn-out is exactly what it sounds like, only instead of referring to an energy source which burns fast and furiously utill nothing is left, it's referring to that energy source - you. It happens when the body and mind have been under stress for a long period.

Commodity brokers and other whizzkids in the City suffer burn-out with alarming regularity, and with millions of pounds hanging on their split-second decision making, it is not surprising. But mothers trying to juggle the requirements of a family may suffer burn-out too, as can any one of us if we do not take care of our natural resources.It is vital to build up your energy stores to avoid exhaustion.Exercise not only helps to keep you healthy enough to fight off fatigue, it also strengthens the heart and enables endorphins to be sent from the brain into the whole physical system, providing you with a sense of well-being. Rub the following synergistic blend oil over your body before exercise.

BURN-OUT EXERCISE OIL SYNERGISTIC BLEND

Relaxation is equally important but if you find that you can't relax, at least breathe in a way that will slow down your pulse rate. Open a window, inhale and take in a large volumes of air, slowly filling the lungs, then exhale slowly. Do this several times, once a day at least. Self-hypnosis is  a good way of reaching into what is out of your conscious control and is a method that can be used at any time of the day.

Lessen your workload wherever possible, and start and finish work at preordained times. don't let anything interfere with this resolution - it can wait. You only have one body and that is your priority. The human energy system has been likened to a petrol tank in a car - if you run out you can draw on the 'reserve tank'. People with burn out are relying on their reserve tank and need to cruise nice and gently until they can fill up again. if you continue to drive yourself at full throttle, you may run out of energy again before you reach further supplies.

Bring yourself into lower gear with relaxation oils.Lessen your workload wherever possible, and start and finish work at preordained times. don't let anything interfere with this resolution - it can wait. You only have one body and that is your priority. The human energy system has been likened to a petrol tank in a car - if you run out you can draw on the 'reserve tank'. People with burn out are relying on their reserve tank and need to cruise nice and gently until they can fill up again. if you continue to drive yourself at full throttle, you may run out of energy again before you reach further supplies. Bring yourself into lower gear with relaxation oils.

BURN-OUT RELAXATION SYNERGISTIC BLEND

You can use this blend in any of the room methods, or in the bath while relaxing with a book. Make up a massage oil on the 1 drop per 1 millilitre vegetable oil basis and ask a friend to massge you, or simply apply it to your body yourself.You can use this blend in any of the room methods, or in the bath while relaxing with a book. Make up a massage oil on the 1 drop per 1 millilitre vegetable oil basis and ask a friend to massge you, or simply apply it to your body yourself.To revive yourself at any time, use the following formula in any of the room methods, in the bath (4-6 drops) or make a body rub using 1 drop per millilitre of vegetable oil.

BURN-OUT REVIVER SYNERGISTIC BLEND

After a warm bath, splash yourself all over with ice-cold reviver. make up a bottle specially for this - an emppty plastic mineral water bottle is ideal - and add three drops of rosemary to 15omls water. keep the bottle in the fridge so it's always ice cool when you require it. Shake the bottle well and splash all over your body. To disperse the essential oils more effectively you coud mix them with a dispersant or 1 teaspoon of vodka before putting them in the water bottle.

After a warm bath, splash yourself all over with ice-cold reviver. make up a bottle specially for this - an emppty plastic mineral water bottle is ideal - and add three drops of rosemary to 15omls water. keep the bottle in the fridge so it's always ice cool when you require it. Shake the bottle well and splash all over your body. To disperse the essential oils more effectively you coud mix them with a dispersant or 1 teaspoon of vodka before putting them in the water bottle.Tired eyes respond well to a rest under cotton wool which has been soaked in an equal mix of cold water and witch-hazel.

Reference: The Fragrant Pharmacy: Valerie Ann Worwood