Arthritis of the Hands Try The Herb Arnica For Fast Relief.

If you have swelling in your knuckles, pain in your fingers, or declining grip strength, you are not alone. The hands are one of the most common sites of age-related osteoarthritis. Rather than turning to ibuprofen and other NSAIDS that may relieve symptoms but can eat up your stomach and increase risk of heart attack, check out Arnica montana, a medicinal herb used for centuries to relieve pain and inflammation. Swiss researchers recently divided 204 patients with osteoarthritis of the hands into two groups and instructed them to rub either arnica gel or ibuprofen gel into their affected joints three times a day.

Reevaluation three weeks later revealed similar improvements in both groups in pain, grip strength, and other measures of hand function. Arnica has also been shown to be effective for sprains, strains, and other injuries. I’ve been a believer in this herb ever since I was thrown off a horse a few years back. I’m convinced it helped with the excruciating pain of the broken ribs I suffered. The brand used in this study was A. Vogel Arnica Gel, sold in the United States as Arnica Rub by Bioforce USA. Look for it in health food stores or order online from ihealthtree.com.