White Willow Bark contains salicin, which the body converts to salicylic acid and has the same effect on the body as aspirin without any of the side effects. In fact, White Willow Bark was the basis for the synthesis of aspirin.History of usage of White Willow Bark goes back as far as 500 BC when ancient Chinese healers began using it to control pain. Native Americans also discovered the value of the Willow tree for relieving pain from headaches and rheumatism and reducing fevers.
The benefits of White Willow Bark today are that it is an anti-inflammatory, a fever reducer, an analgesic, an anti-rheumatic, and an astringent. Specifically, it helps to relieve headaches; helps to ease pain associated with inflammatory conditions like rheumatism, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome; and helps to control fevers.
Relieve acute and chronic pain, including headache, back and neck pain, muscle aches, and menstrual cramps. The effectiveness of white willow bark for easing these and other types of discomforts results from its power to lower prostaglandin levels.
Control arthritis discomforts. Some arthritis sufferers taking white willow bark have experienced reduced swelling and inflammation, and eventually increased mobility, in the back, knees, hips, and other joints.
