Hurt your tendon? Broke a bone? Suffering from deep tissue damage? Here’s what I recommend: Arnica! I have written before about this old-timey remedy.

11/05/12 One of my favorite herbs is arnica – the classic sunflower with yellow daisy-like flowers. Arnica is what I recommend for external use in injury from trauma, e.g., hematoma, dislocations, contusions, edema due to fracture, muscle and joint pain. Herbal preparations of arnica bring the best results when tested in lab studies. Used immediately after an injury, arnica helps speed the healing process by moving fluids through the injured area to bring cleansing fluids and platelets into the affected area wile blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines. Use arnica in short durations because it brings allergic skin reactions when overused.

01/27/12 ARNICA: Herbalists say it’s awesome for speeding up the healing of sprains and muscle strains. Preliminary research shows that it also helps bruises heal faster. Homoeopathic tinctures have been used successfully in the treatment of epilepsy, seasickness, tender feet in a foot-bath of hot water and applied to the scalp it will make the hair grow! I’m using it for my broken collar bone and injured shoulder.

Use liquid extract of arnica topically in a poultice or make a salve by mixing it with 1-part arnica to 4 parts coconut oil and 1-part DMSO. The arnica speeds the healing and the DMSO is both a transport medium and a combination of methyls and sulfur—which all damaged cells need for function and repair. The coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride that provides cellular energy for faster tissue repairs while protecting deep tissues from inflammation and cellulitis.