Herbal Treatment for Sports Injuries

I'm a soccer player who recently had a bad ankle sprain. My question is about the use of herbal compresses and poultices. What's a compress? What's a poultice? We've heard these can help, but I don't know anything about them. Can you shed any light on this subject?

Make a Tea for Your Ankle

I have had quite a few experiences with both compresses and poultices, and they have consistently been positive experiences. An herbal compress and a poultice both start out being made the same way. A tea is made from adding herbs (fresh or dried), to water. Bring this to a boil and remove it from the heat. Let it steep, covered for 10 minutes or so. Here is where these two treatments differ a bit. For the herbal compress we soak a bandage in this liquid and secure the wet bandage to the injury for 30 minutes at a time, twice a day, with a hot water bottle over it. For the poultice, you soak a cloth in the liquid, place the herbs onto the cloth and apply the wet packet to the injury, with a hot water bottle, 30 minutes, 2x per day.

Reduced Pain and Rapid Healing

Both of these methods have produced surprisingly effective results- reduced swelling, reduced pain, rapid healing and in some cases even allowing the patients to avoid surgery.

The Wonders of Comfrey

There are many herbs that can be helpful for mending an ankle sprain, and a qualified Herbalist (which I am not) is a wonderful resource. The one main ingredient that I have had experience and luck with is comfrey leaf and root. I have a plant growing in my garden and have used it on countless injuries, big and little. Comfrey has been used to promote cell regeneration; soothe, lubricate and protect tissues and as an astringent to cleanse the tissues internally. I have never had any negative results and have not heard of any, ever, from using this herb externally. An attitude of caution and respect, however, are always indicated when using herbs, and I strongly urge you to contact Herbalists and consult herbal books to expand your knowledge and experience.

I hope this column can be of help to you, by offering information from people who work with injuries daily. Whether you are a serious athlete or an occasional good sport, we all get sports injuries.