Cayenne-mustard plaster for back ache.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Cayenne red pepper and mustard for backache
From: ricks.sage.ultranet.com (Rick Sullivan)
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 1995 13:22:32 GMT

For some years now I have been trying to get friends to try a backache remedy I found in a book and tried with surprising success. Only one in about 15 people I have described it to has tried it, and it worked great for her - she cancelled a series of 6 Chiropractic sessions for a recurring pain from an old whiplash injury. It helps my low back pain considerably - even relieving a spasm from too much digging in the spring garden!

Would you folks please try it out and let me know if it works for you, too.

Here it is - it's simple and you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen. Take 1 teaspoonful of Cayenne red pepper and 1 teaspoonful of dried mustard powder and mix in a small bowl with about 2 Tablespoonfuls of hot water, to make a watery paste. Spread this paste on a washcloth, and fold the cloth over so the paste is inside. Dribble some hot water on the washcloth so the fumes (yes!) come up through the washcloth. Slap this on your achy back and massage. You should feel the heat from the pepper and mustard ease into the achy muscles. (I think the heat is what heals - seems to bring lots of blood to the area, helping the massage to go real deep.) That's it.

Now be careful not to get the pepper/mustard paste on your skin directly; it will cause an abrasion and scabbing. (You should have seen my friend's neck after she got the stuff on her -- it was pretty intense, but then again, this was the person who cancelled her Chiropracty!) I am *aching* to see if this works for others.

Hope this helps someone out there.

Pat