Castor Oil for Joint Pain

Castor oil can be used to relieve joint pain and other types of soreness by creating a castor oil pack and placing it on the sore area, according to some holistic medicine practitioners.

About Castor Oil

Castor oil is extracted from the castor bean plant's seeds, which grow in pods. The plant, which is also known by its botanical name, Ricinus communis, and is sometimes called the castor oil plant, tends to grow well in sunny, warm climates. The seeds, which resemble bulbous beetles, and the plant itself, are actually poisonous; eating a single seed can give you an upset stomach. Eating a number of seeds can cause cardiovascular issues. However, castor oil can be created safely from the seed because the poisonous element, ricin, that is most concentrated in the castor bean plant's seeds, is water-soluble and is excluded from the oil during production, according to the Canadian government's Poisonous Plants Information System.

Large amounts of castor oil are imported into the U.S. and Europe each year. The oil is mostly used industrially, including being used as a lubricant and to make certain printing inks. Just one percent of the castor oil that is made in the U.S. is used in medical treatments, according to Purdue's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, but castor oil may be able to help relieve certain types of pain.

Castor Oil and Pain Relief

According to a recent Huffington Post commentary by fitness trainer Stefan Aschan, who founded the Strength 123 training program, castor oil treatments have been able to decrease injury healing time.

The nonprofit Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), founded by holistic medicine practitioner and alleged psychic Edgar Cayce in 1931, suggests using a castor oil pack, along with a heating pad, to improve circulation and provide relief for aches and pains, including joint pain.

To create a castor oil pack, fold a 12x18-in. piece of wool flannel into three thicknesses, place it in a pan and saturate it with castor oil. Place the pack on the area that is experiencing joint pain, cover with plastic wrap, and a towel to absorb any excess oil, and then apply a heating pad. A.R.E. suggests leaving the pack on for about an hour and a half and using it for three days in a row to relieve join pain or other discomfort.

Although using castor oil to treat minor pains is widely considered an alternative medicine approach, some members of the medical community have examined castor oil's healing effects. In 1994, a revised version of William A. McGarey, M.D.'s book "The Oil That Heals: A Physician's Successes With Castor Oil Treatments" was published, analyzing case studies in which castor oil was used to heal medical problems.