It was my birthday last week and I was lucky enough to receive a new bike. Lightweight, plenty of gears and with room for my panniers I couldn’t wait to try it out on my commute. I breezed to work on Monday morning and eagerly set off home at the end of the day. Then, I fell off, quite ungraciously, at the top of Micklegate (I was the lady sat on the kerb rubbing my ankle if you happened to pass by!) Fortunately, nothing was broken but it got me thinking about all the foods and natural remedies available to us to support our healing and recovery from fractures, sprains and bruises.

I hadn’t broken any skin on my hands or ankle so straightaway applied Arnica cream. This traditional herbal cream is fantastic for dealing with bruises, enabling them to heal quickly. Next up was a soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts; the salts contain magnesium sulphate which is soothing to both the nervous system and aching muscles and joints.

For me, these simple treatments have been enough, but for deeper injuries there are a range of herbs and nutrients to help.

Reducing inflammation is the first step on the road to healing. Turmeric is a fantastic anti-inflammatory herb with pain killing properties. It blocks the chemical messengers in the body responsible for pain whilst being gentle on the stomach, unlike standard painkillers which can increase the risk of gastric bleeding. Fresh or dried turmeric can be added to meals or even made into a tea. Ginger is another pain-relieving food, easily included in curries, stir-frys and drinks.

Bone fractures call for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich foods along with a good supply of proteins, zinc and vitamin C to aid bone healing. We often think of taking calcium for bones: including calcium rich foods like broccoli, nuts and dried figs is helpful but only part of the picture of bone health as many other nutrients are needed to make up the mesh-like structure inside bones onto which calcium is deposited.

For example; fresh nettles are a great source of silica, a key mineral for bone health. Nettles are seen as a weed in most gardens – making them into soup is a tasty way to utilise them!
If an injury has left you with unsightly, painful scar tissue then antioxidant nutrients may be your answer. The vitamins C, E and A work together as a team to support skin healing and repair. Massage oils like avocado or almond oil are high in vitamin E and can be used externally on the skin. Rosehip oil is particularly useful for scars; its content of carotenes (natural compounds which convert into vitamin A) gives it a deep orangey colour and aid skin repair. Combine these massage oils with foods such as sunflower seeds, almonds, sweet potatoes, carrots, watercress and red peppers to nourish and heal yourself from both the inside and out. 

- Sally Duffin is a nutritional therapist and writer based in Holgate, York.