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Active Arnica
by Alison Cullen
HEALTHY WAY MAGAZINE WEBISSUE 43 ARTICLE 5 
Are you one of those people who waken in the morning and slowly straighten your fingers one by one? Do your knees crackle when you stand up after just a short time relaxing in your chair? If not you, then those around you?
Stiffness, aches and pains seem to be some of the everyday curses of 21st Century life. Younger and younger people are seeking an
effective remedy.
Inflammation is a useful part of the body's defences. However if the inflammatory response is prolonged it can become a debilitating part of the disease process rather than the healing.
It isn't just people with long term conditions that are affected, but those who have injured themselves playing sports or practising a hobby such as gardening a little too strenuously, and need anti-inflammatory help to get their injury healed and their limbs back into action.
Many people find that conventional anti-inflammatory medication doesn't work very well or becomes less effective after a couple of weeks. This is a common phenomenon. Fortunately, A.Vogel Atrogel Arnica Gel, made from fresh, organically grown arnica flower heads, within 24 hours of harvesting, has been shown to exert a pain-relieving and inflammation-inhibiting action with a very great level of efficacy.
Arnica montana, a member of the sunflower family, is a perennial with a bright yellow flower that blooms in July. Its sunny colour makes it easily spotted, and it is the flower head itself that contains the active ingredients that make it of interest medicinally.
Arnica is indigenous to the mountain forests and meadows of central Europe as its name indicates. It has been a popular medicinal plant for centuries. Fortunately Arnica's medicinal use is based on solid scientific evidence, and has now been proven by clinical trials.
- In a study of people with osteoarthritis of at least one knee joint, rubbing Arnica Gel onto the joints twice daily gave them significant treatment success after just 3 weeks. The inflammatory pain diminished considerably.
- In a study of more than 200 people with osteoarthritic pain in the fingers, Arnica Gel was shown to be as effective as Ibuprofen gel, with patients generally preferring Arnica to the synthetic gel. The number of painful joints was decreased significantly, and morning joint stiffness decreased.
Arnica montana is very difficult to cultivate, needing specific soil conditions, so many manufacturers have traditionally chosen to wild harvest it, causing it to become endangered. It is now protected in many parts of Europe.
A.Vogel devoted many years to finding a climate and soil in which Arnica montana would thrive, resulting in a special farm in Germany, close to the Swiss border where Arnica grows happily. In this way a crop of healthy, potent plants can be guaranteed without harming the environment.
Arnica fields have to be weeded continuously, as the plants don't grow very close together so there is a great deal of room for weeds. It's all hands to the fields during harvesting too, as careful hand harvesting is necessary - only the flowers can be used, and they must be prepared whilst still fresh to capture the ingredients that make Atrogel Arnica Gel such an effective anti-inflammatory remedy.
Getting Hot and Bothered
Inflammation is actually a useful part of the body's defences. When tissue is damaged, cells produce chemicals that cause swelling and dilation of the tissues and extra permeability of the blood vessels to allow blood to reach the area more effectively, bringing with it oxygen and immune cells to aid healing. This is a healthy response.
If, however, the inflammatory response is prolonged, it becomes part of the disease process instead of the healing process, as pain is ongoing and the afflicted area starts to deteriorate under the ongoing attack from white blood cells and heat.
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