March 2015
Dear Friends,
I highly recommend using devils claw for arthritis. Devil’s claw is native to South Africa and was first used medicinally thousands of years ago in Madagascar and the Kalahari Desert. It belongs to the sesame family. It gets its name from the large hooks that are formed when the seed pods starts to split. It is also covered with tiny Velcro-like hooks. At 10 inches, it is perhaps one of the largest hitchhikers you will ever encounter. For this reason it is also known as grapple plant or wood spider.
The hooks catch on the feet of animals, and as the animals walk, the pods are crushed open, dispersing the seeds. The plants are about 3 foot high and 3 foot across with a taproot and secondary tubers. It bears a beautiful cream and purple orchid like flower, which develops, into edible seedpods. But in spite of it’s sinister name, Devils Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is a plant that is saintly in its healing properties.
It was the roots and tubers of the herb that first drew the interest of healers. African folk medicine made use of Devil’s Claw; for blood disorders, to reduce fever, for joint pain, and to relieve various complications during pregnancy.
In America the Navajo, Apache, Hopi and Zuni tribes of the southwest used devils Claw for their beautifully intricate baskets.
In France Devil’s claw root products can be marketed with a claim for traditional use for symptomatic relief of painful joint disorders. The European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy approves the herb for painful arthritis, tendinitis, loss of appetite and dyspepsia.
Is It Safe?
It can be used safely for long-term joint pain, new joint injury and pain from joint overuse. Devil’s Claw also has sedative properties for inducing sleep, and diuretic properties to assist in the production of urine. The British Herbal Pharmacopoea has recognized these properties, and clinical studies have shown that it is, indeed, an effective anti-inflammatory. It is known to help reduce cholesterol and uric acids in the blood, making it an effective treatment for gout.
Its use in Western herbal medicine however stems from a German farmer named G.H. Menhert who observed its efficacy in treating casualties of the Hottentot rebellion of 1904 in South Western Africa. Apparently many of the Herero tribes fighting German colonization were given up for dead, when a local shaman prepared a medicine from Devil’s Claw that cured them. We don’t know in what capacity the shaman used Devil’s Claw to heal his people or if this story was history or myth but this incident seems to be the origin of western knowledge of Devil’s Claw.
When introduced to Europe in 1953, Devil’s Claw was used mostly for arthritic, liver, bile, kidney and bladder complaints, and also allergies. Today the most popular use for Devil’s claw root is to relieve arthritis.
Today, people interested in utilizing the herb’s therapeutic properties have their choice of infusion teas and tinctures, as well as more modern tablets, capsules and creams.
How Do I Use Devil's Claw?
I use Devil’s Claw for arthritis in my Arthritis Formula. It is a tincture I developed over 20 years ago for my mother who had severe arthritic nodules on her spine and suffered greatly because of the constant pain. My Arthritis Formula was the only thing that gave her relief so that anytime she was hospitalized her doctor made sure to continue her Arthritis Formula by prescribing it to her inventory of medications for the duration of her hospital stay. I am so grateful to this herb for making the last years of her life practically pain-free.
The beauty of using whole herbs such as those in the Arthritis Formula is that they not only relieve the pain of arthritis but in fact they prevent further joint damage by correcting the autoimmune response.
I in fact use Arthritis Formula myself. In 2003 my broken foot was misdiagnosed as plantar fasciitis and it was never casted. By the time the mistake was discovered it was too late to correct it. In the years to come it had become so painful I could hardly put pressure on it. It was riddled with arthritis. Thanks to devils claw and other herbs, my foot has healed so completely, I don’t even notice my old injury.
Until next time…may you always live in…
Love and Light, Lori
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