Drug Free Treatments For Sports Injuries

Whilst exercising regularly is vital for keeping your body healthy and in good shape, when you pull a muscle or get hurt, it can be a little annoying. Especially when it affects your ability to get around. 

Although most sports injuries don't take too long to heal, they can be irritating and painful. Especially when you don't know the best way to treat them. Instead of turning to your local chemist, why not give natural treatments a try? 

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For our guide to drug free treatments for sports injuries, keep reading below: 

Heat & Ice Therapy 

One of the best natural treatments for sports injuries is heat and ice therapy. 

When an injury first occurs it is a good idea to apply an ice pack to it, make sure to wrap the ice pack in towel first though. For best results, ice should be placed on the injury within 10 minutes of it happening and should be kept on there for up to half an hour. 

Ice will help to prevent or reduce swelling and will reduce the pain by numbing the area it is applied to. By reducing the swelling, ice can also help to stop the affected area from going stiff. 

After 48 hours of the injury occurring, heat can then start to be used. Heat can be applied to the injury via a microwavable wheat bag, hot water bottle, heat pads, or via deep heat cream. 

Heat will help to aid the healing process by dilating the blood vessels, bringing more blood to the injury, stimulating any damaged tissues and helping them to heal quicker. Applying heat will also soothe the area, help to reduce the amount of pain and ease any stiffness by making the tissues looser. 

Many people find that applying a combination of heat and ice is very effective in reducing injury pain and speeding up the healing process. 

Vitamins & Minerals 

Some vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C can aid the healing process, speeding it up. To help speed up your healing period it is vital that you get lots of vitamin C into your body, either through supplements or diet. 

Oranges, kale, guavas, peppers, kiwi, and broccoli, among others, are all foods that are rich in vitamin C. 

Other important vitamins for speeding up healing are vitamin A, zinc and vitamin E, they are also important for their antioxidant effects. 

Natural Anti-Inflammatory's

As well as reducing inflammation externally, you can also reduce it and relieve pain by taking certain herbs and natural remedies internally. Rosemary, ginger and turmeric, and aloe vera are all excellent natural anti-inflammatory's. 

Turmeric contains something called curcumin, which studies have suggested, can reduce swelling as effectively as certain prescription medicines. It isn't a good idea to eat turmeric on its own, instead stir it into pasta dishes, soups and stew and make sure to eat four teaspoons a day, until the swelling subsides. 

Ginger and rosemary also contain similar properties. For best results make a cup of fresh ginger tea or soak in a ginger and rosemary bath. 

Aloe vera also has anti-inflammatory properties which studies have suggest can aid healing and reduce inflammation. Aloe vera can be taken internally to help reduce swelling and pain, for best results take 90 ml of aloe vera gel each day. 

4 Natural Remedies For Spots

We all suffer from the odd spot or two from time to time, but for some people spots can become a major problem. 

Whilst getting a pimple every now and then isn't a big deal, having to live with spots day in and day out is a different story. Not only are regular acne outbreaks sore and irritating, they can also negatively affect your confidence. 

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Acne is caused by the skin becoming inflamed after the oil glands  become infected with bacteria, swell up and fill with fluid, causing spots to occur. 

Although there are drug-based treatments you can use to improve your skin, they tend to have nasty side effects and take a while to work. Whereas natural treatments have no side effects, are free of chemicals and tend to work quite quickly. 

For a guide to all our favorite natural spot treatments, have a read of this. 

1. Ice 

Ice is one of the best treatments for reducing the redness and swelling of a pimple. Applying ice directly to the spot can help to remove oil and dirt that has built up under the skin and caused the spot to occur. 

For best results, it is a good idea to wrap an ice pack in a cloth and apply it to the affected area for 15 seconds. After a minute, repeat the process again. 

2. Garlic 

You may not know this, but garlic has antiviral, anti-fungal and antibacterial properties, and can be used as a natural treatment for pimples. 

Slice a fresh garlic clove in half, rub the garlic onto each pimple and leave it to try. After a few minutes wash the garlic off with a damp cloth and warm water. For best results, repeat this process three or four times a day. 

3. Aloe Vera 

Aloe Vera is known across the world for it's amazing health benefits and antibacterial properties. As well as antibacterial properties, Aloe Vera also has anti-inflammatory properties. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it an excellent treatment for acne. 

There are two ways you can use Aloe Vera to treat spots. You can either apply inner leaf Aloe Vera gel to the affected area (there is no need to wash off) or you can drink the gel and treat the problem from the inside. 

For a short-term treatment to help relieve redness and inflammation, applying Aloe Vera gel to the affected area is ideal. But for a longer term treatment, drinking Aloe Vera gel on a regular basis is the best way to clear up your spots. 

4. Honey 

Honey is an excellent natural spot treatment, as it contains natural antibiotics and can help to increase the healing process. 

Dip a clean finger or cotton bud into a jar of good quality honey and apply to the affected area. Leave for 30 minutes and then gently wash off with a damp cloth and warm water. For best results, repeat three or four times a day.