Treating Knee Injuries with Solomon’s Seal

There can be numerous forms of knee injuries that affect joints, tendons, ligaments, bursae and synovial fluids, bones, etc. Pain, inflammation, soreness and tenderness, swelling and heat are usual signs of a knee injury. One of the most common knee injury is that called “Runner’s Knee.” Because treatment and healing can be successfully self-administered, this frequent form of knee discomfort responds well to the use of herbal tinctures, salves, liniments and the like, instead of intervention using prescription medications that can disrupt other body systems. This article will help you to assess your knee discomfort, learn about your knee parts, and determine therapeutic strategies, including the use of Solomon’s Seal.

Treating Tennis Elbow (Elbow Tendonitis) with Solomon’s Seal

One of the most common injuries among sports participants and manual laborers is “tennis elbow”, a form of tendonitis associated with elbow pain. With proper care, lifestyle modification, and nonsurgical intervention this painful condition can heal itself. However, the symptoms must be recognized soon for optimal healing. This article discusses the causes and symptoms of tennis elbow, as well as suggested intervention, including the use of the herb Solomon’s Seal in tincture, salve and liniment form.

WHAT IS TENNIS ELBOW?

The exact cause of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is unkown. It is generally thought to be due to small tears of the tendons that attach forearm muscles to the arm bone at the elbow joint. The muscle group involved, the wrist extensors, function to cock the wrist back. Specifically, the extensor carpi radialis brevis is implicated in causing the symptoms of tennis elbow.

Bruises: How to Treat Them — and the Effectiveness of Solomon’s Seal

Bruises are usually caused by bumping into, or being hit by something. The result is a release of blood from the tiny capillaries under the skin. The characteristic bluish-black mark on the skin lightens in color and eventually fades as the blood is absorbed by the tissues and carried away. The ability to heal quickly from a bruise is dependent upon both a person’s general health and diet, and the form of therapeutic intervention. These subjects are explored in this article, with special emphasis given to the effectiveness of using Solomon’s Seal in some form — tincture, salve or liniment — and formulated with other helpful herbs.

Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment (with Solomon’s Seal): Its Use and Effectiveness

An herbal liniment is a medicinal liquid formulated with herbs in a base of rubbing alcohol, Witch Hazel, or oil. It is firmly rubbed into the skin to provide temporary, fast-acting pain relief for sore and inflamed joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It may also alleviate some of the discomfort of arthritis, bursitis, circulation problems, old injuries, rheumatism, sprains, strains, bumps, and bruises.

Liniments are extremely practical, having been used for thousands of years, often giving necessary short-term relief from pain, discomfort and stiffness within minutes. For those with joint health issues (stiffness, inflammation, pain), an effective liniment is invaluable. Athletes and outdoor recreation enthusiasts, from runners to gardeners, often use a liniment before and after exercise to keep muscles and joints loose and flexible. It goes without saying: Every medicine chest should have a bottle of liniment.

We have taken great care in formulating our Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment. The selected organic herbs are known for their individual and synergistic therapeutic value. They are steeped in a Witch Hazel and Isopropyl Alcohol base for many weeks for optimal distillation of each herb’s chemical constituents. We hand-bottle each liniment on demand from the steeping menstrum base to ensure highest and freshest therapeutic qualities.

Although liniments are not designed to provide long-term relief from chronic pain or discomfort, they work especially well when combined with herbal salves and/or tinctures, which are more lasting over time in their healing effects. We discuss this healing strategy thoroughly below.

Using an Herbal Liniment: Key Part of a 3-Step Healing Strategy

An herbal liniment (such as our Cortesia Quick Relief Liniment) is a medicinal liquid of herbs in a base or “carrier” of rubbing alcohol, Witch Hazel, or oil that is firmly rubbed into the skin to provide temporary, fast-acting pain relief and increased blood circulation. A liniment can be used alone, however, its effectiveness is increased when part of a 3-Step Healing Strategy using an accompanying topical salve and tincture. A good therapeutic liniment is effective for the following types of conditions:

• Sore and inflamed joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments
• Alleviation of the discomfort of arthritis, bursitis, and rheumatism
• Circulation problems (increases blood circulation in affected area)
• Sprains, strains, and bruises
• Injuries or discomforts from sports, gardening, work, or recreational activities associated with the above symptoms
• Other conditions that may benefit from short-term relief

Liniments are one of the oldest known natural medicinal interventions, fully using the therapeutic qualities of certain plants. They have been used for thousands of years, applied externally on humans and animals alike. Horse trainers use liniments extensively to relieve leg strains and injuries unique to horses. Athletes and sports enthusiasts often find quick relief by using a liniment. (For example, rub in a liniment briskly before and after your morning or afternoon run or strenuous workout). Similarly, people suffering from arthritis or bursitis greatly benefit from the short-term relief that a liniment provides.

Although liniments are not designed to provide long-term relief from chronic pain or discomfort, they work especially well when combined with herbal salves and/or tinctures, which are more lasting over time in their healing effects. We discuss this healing strategy thoroughly below. Massage will also enhance the effects of a liniment.

Joint Pain and Injury — How Solomon’s Seal May Help

Joint pain and discomfort is one of the most common health concerns today. Millions of dollars per year are spent on treatment, medications and over-the-counter interventions. There are numerous causes for joint issues — disease, accident, stress-injuries from overexertion, environmental, even nutrition and diet.

Most people have little knowledge about how their joints work, nor do they understand the mechanism behind joint pain and inflammation. This article offers a basic overview of joints, including joint pain and inflammation. It also clarifies how an herb like Solomon’s Seal works to treat joint issues and to optimize their health.

How Joints Work

Imagine your body without joints — remove all joints from toes, ankles, knees, hips, fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck. The result is that you would simply be a stiff stick figure that could not bend, rotate, properly walk, run, sit, or function in most human ways. To understand the mystery of joints is really quite simple: a joint is formed when two bones meet. Similarly, the mechanics of joint function is simple: ligaments, tendons, bursae, cartilage and synovium all work together as a system to seamlessly give flexibility. We can call this the joint system. It is this joint system that gives us movement and range of motion.

There are three categories of joints classified by the amount of movement they allow: fibrous joints which allow no movement, cartilaginous joints which allow limited movement (as in spine and ribs), and synovial joints which are free-moving (the most common type of joint in the body).

All joint issues are a result of a breakdown or dysfunction of one or multiple parts of the joint system that prevent basic movement. This article will help you know your joint system, and especially the unique way in which the herb Solomon’s Seal can help with joint issues.

How Solomon’s Seal Works to Heal You

The medicinal use of the root of the herb Solomon’s Seal (polygonatum biflorum or multiflorum) dates back over 3,500 years ago to the era of King Solomon. He was so impressed by the plant’s diverse healing qualities that he proclaimed it a gift from God, and thus named it after himself. Its more “modern day” acknowledgement was by Dioscorides and Pliny in the 1st Century, A.D. Asian medicine considers it one of the ten top healing plants. Ancient Europeans and North American Indians considered it a medicinal “workhorse” of wide value. Today, there is increasing interest in the therapeutic values of the plant.

Solomon's Seal (polygonatum biflorum)

Just a partial list of its uses demonstrates Solomon’s Seal’s wide healing potential:

• Rebuilds damaged cartilage & connecting tissue
• Reduces inflammation and speeds healing of bruises, wounds and skin irritations
• Hastens recovery from bone injuries (broken, stressed, osteoarthritis) and associated connective tissues, including arthritis
• Produces synovial fluid to reduce grinding in joints
• Tightens or loosens (as needed) tendons, ligaments, joints & attachments associated with repetitive stress, injury & inflammation
• Soothes gastrointestinal inflammation and injuries
• Loosens mucous in lungs
• Regulates blood pressure
• Treats and relieves women’s issues

The question remains, however, what makes Solomon’s Seal work so well? What are its constituents that, when processed into a tincture, salve, tea or liniment, or when combined with those of another herb, empower its healing qualities?

Treating “Mommy Thumb” (De Quervain’s Tendonitis) with Solomon’s Seal

Mommy Thumb is the current nickname given to De Quervain’s tendonitis. Almost 50% of new mothers experience this condition, as described below. However, it is a condition common to many people who engage in repetitive hand or wrist movement, such as gardening, knitting, cooking, playing a musical instrument, carpentry, walking a pet on a leash, lifting a baby, and the like.

De Quervain’s tendonitis is not carpal tunnel syndrome, a pain that is usually centered on the inside of the wrist where nerves and tendons pass through a narrow tunnel-like space. De Quervain’s tendonitis involves just the thumb tendon, which runs through a canal at the base of the thumb at the back of the hand. Specifically, the protective synovium sheath of the tendon becomes inflamed. In most cases, the condition is not serious and can be easily treated. This article will help you identify De Quervain’s tendonitis and its causes, and suggest treatment strategies including the use of Solomon’s Seal tincture and salve.

Solomon’s Seal: Increased Healing Benefits with 7 Key Herbs

Note: Much of the content of this article was carefully researched and formulated by the creator of the line of Cortesia Solomon’s Seal tinctures, Tricia Clark-McDowell

We’ve written extensively about the effectiveness of Solomon’s Seal in connection with damaged tendons, ligaments, muscles, bones, inflammation, and more. It is possible, however, to hone in on very specific physical conditions with advanced Solomons’s Seal formulas that work synergistically to foster even deeper healing.

Consequently, the powerful healing properties are enhanced when Solomon’s Seal is carefully combined with one or more seven key herbs to address specific issues, such as arthritis, bone repair and bone building, cartilage and tissue damage, deep pain and tension, and women’s issues related to menopause and PMS.

This article guides you specifically about how we have combined Solomon’s Seal with one or more of the following powerful seven herbs to create specific formulas:

• Agrimony
• Blue Vervain
• Boneset
• Gravel Root
• Horsetail
• Mullein
• Pleurisy Root

First, let’s review the numerous healing benefits and suggested uses for regular Solomon’s Seal itself:

Treating Bursitis with Solomon’s Seal

WHAT IS BURSITIS?

Bursitis is the inflammation or irritation of the bursa. The bursa is a sac filled with lubricating fluid, located between tissues such as bone, muscle, tendons, and skin, that decreases rubbing, friction, and irritation.

Solomon’s Seal tincture is especially effective in treating bursitis, as discussed thoroughly later in this article. Its properties reduce inflammation of affected tissues, restore fluids to bursa and synovial glands, increases lubrication in joint areas, especially those affected by osteoarthritis, and helps to decalcify joints. Its known plasticity effect helps to restore scar tissue to near original condition, thereby aiding tendons, ligaments and muscles.

If you suffer from bursitis, this educational article discusses causes, signs and symptoms, prevention, self-care (most bursitis can be treated without invasive medical intervention or drugs), and finally, alternative treatment methods, including the use of Solomon’s Seal.

Treating Low Back Pain, Sacral Pain & Sciatica with Solomon’s Seal

Back pain is the second most common ailment in the United States – only headache (according to some, the common cold) is more common. Fortunately, most occurrences of low back pain go away within a few days. Others take much longer to resolve or lead to more serious conditions.

Most low back pain is triggered by some combination of overuse, muscle strain, and injury to the muscles, ligaments, and discs that support the spine. Over time muscle strain can lead to an overall imbalance in the spinal structure. This leads to a constant tension on the muscles, ligaments, bones, and discs, making the back more prone to injury or re-injury.

There are numerous possible interventions to low back pain, as noted later in this article. The herb, Solomon’s Seal, however, has demonstrated significant effectiveness as well and should be considered in any therapeutic intervention. Let’s first review the issues you may have with low back pain.

Solomon’s Seal and the Healing Effects of Prayer and Affirmation

Solomon’s Seal has a long history as a plant with diverse healing capabilities. However, it is fallacious to assume that it can be the end-all to your discomfort from injury. I encourage you to be open to and informed about various healing modalities: from the traditional to the alternative, from science to spiritual. For example, in moments of trauma, injury or crisis people have a natural inclination toward help in the form of prayer, visualization or affirmation.

Many years ago I counseled Viet Nam war veterans who returned home with mangled bodies from stepping on land mines. I would walk through the softly lit ward and hear streams of prayers filter through fits of crying. As a young intern, I became aware that, beyond any medical intervention I had idealized to be their cure, there was a deeper level of intervention they sought for which I had little understanding. Consequently, I decided that in any form of counseling and rehabilitation therapy I offered, I would strive to embolden the individual not only through science but also through their faith. After all, I reasoned, an injury may be more than just a broken body part; it may also be a broken spirit.

Healing Texting, Thumb and Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) with Solomon’s Seal: Part 1

The proliferation and use of PDAs (wireless personal digital assistants) such as Blackberries, and the significant increase in time spent at computer keyboards or engaging in video gaming has created a whole new generation of people of all ages experiencing hand and finger injury, pain and discomfort. More and more, people are depending on these devices to stay in touch with friends and family. However, an increasing number are beginning to pay the price for such ready access to the world.

Popularly called “Blackberry Thumb”, or “teen texting tendonitis,” this Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) occurs because these devices rely almost solely on the use of your thumbs (not all of your fingers) for typing. Any device that relies on the thumbs for typing can cause this type of injury because the thumbs simply weren’t designed for such use. Additionally, there are also other stress injuries reported — wrist, forearm, shoulder, upper back and neck — as a result of constant texting.

Solomon’s Seal: Healing & Regenerative Effects on Injuries

We have an incredible capacity for healing ourselves. It does not matter where we may see ourselves on the wellness/worseness continuum, we always possess some regenerative capacity which can make us more well, or at least have the feeling of being well, in some way. The power of regeneration, and the role Solomon’s Seal plays in healing is worthy of deeper study.

If you contemplate life in terms of regeneration, a whole new way of seeing reality will open up: everything appears to be attempting to regenerate its existence in some way. Let’s discuss this closer.