People, who are not familiar with aromatherapy, may think this seems like a weak therapy choice when compared to stronger treatments, like prescription drug therapies, which are most often the first thing offered to patients, by their doctors. But, you may be surprised to know, aromatherapy is a traditional method, which has been studied quite extensively. These studies have shown it to be an effective treatment in reducing the onset of the most common arthritis symptoms.

Aromatherapy provides arthritis sufferers with a feeling of overall good health and relaxation. When used in conjunction with other forms of therapy, such as occupational therapy, and the usual drug therapy, it has been proven to be most effective. Another benefit of aromatherapy is, it is safe, all natural, and does not produce any side effects.

Aromatherapy has now become so popular that you can even find some specially blended oils available to relieve arthritis pain. Just look for them at your local health food store, or do a search for them on the Internet.

Some of the best aromatherapy oils, for treating arthritis, are eucalyptus, camphor, thyme, lavender, rosemary, ginger, lemon, and angelica root. You may even want to try using aromatherapy in a hot compress treatment to help reduce the pain and joint stiffness, as well as overall muscle tension.

 Essential oils give the aroma to the plant, but they also contain dozens of complex chemicals that seem to do everything from beautifying skin or speeding healing to putting you to sleep or numbing a headache.

Even if you think you have never come across these oils before, all of us ate affected by them each day. Every time you peel an orange, the essential oil squirts out of the tiny pockets in the peel and, because it is so volatile, instantly evaporates into the air releasing its bitter-sweet, tangy, citrus smell. And whether you notice or not, the orange oil has a refreshing but relaxing effect.

When you take flowers to someone who is ill in hospital you are using aromatherapy to help them feel better. The essential oils that give the smell to a bouquet of jasmine, roses, geranium, and lavender, for instance, all contain chemicals that relax the nervous system and instantly improve spirits.

When you use pure essential oils though, the beneficial properties are more concentrated, and have a greater effect on both mind and body than you get from just sniffing a bunch of flowers. So learning how you can use these essential oils will give you the means to be healthier, happier and more in control of every area of your life.

The liquid is held in tiny sacs somewhere on the living plant. Extracting it before it escapes into the air can be very complicated: The easiest and least expensive method is to turn the raw materials into steam and distil the oil. The most time-consuming and labour-intensive way is to press the flowers into trays of fat and replace them with fresh blooms every day for up to three months until the fat is saturated with essential oil. Citrus fruit peel is pressed by machine or hand and, the oil is collected in sponges below. Plant resins are usually mixed with a solvent and alcohol to help separate the essential oil from the gum resin.

Rose is the rarest and most expensive of all essential oils. Two tons of fresh petals in full bloom yield a mere one kg (two pounds) of essential oil. The humble orange tree on the other hand produces three oils ­neroli from the blossoms, petitgrain from the leaves and, orange oil from the fruit rind – each of which has its own distinct properties.

The quality of an essential oil can vary from year to year, just like the vintage of a fine wine. Altitude and soil affect quality, as much as climate and the exact moment of harvest. Picking the raw ingredient is only the first consideration, for if they are left too long or not extracted using the best possible method, the essential oils might end up being inferior.

It is important to buy pure essential oils from a reputable source, as inferior quality or prediluted ones may have lost potency. Fortunately, with the increased interest in aromatherapy it is now possible to buy fine oils from specialist beauty outlets, mail order companies and health food shops throughout the Western world. Your nearest Aromatherapy Associ­ation will be able to offer guidance.

Researchers say they are a mixture of organic compounds, such as ketones, terpenes, esters, alcohols, aldehydes, and hundreds of other molecules, many too small or complex to classify under a microscope.

What they do, rather than what they are, is much easier to understand. Because the molecules of essen­tial oils are so minute and so quick to evaporate, they penetrate human skin and enter the bloodstream and organs, before eventually being excreted.

Scientists have found that the same oils gather in the same parts of the body time and time again, within a few hours of being massaged into skin. This is what makes them unique and so therapeutic, since very few things can actually penetrate human skin.

 The fact that essential oils have healing properties is beyond doubt. Today, scientists studying botanicals find more and more vital ingredients in nature rather than in test-tubes. For instance the painkiller aspirin comes from the willow tree, the Australian tea-tree contains a germ-killer a dozen times more effective than carbolic, and good old carrots are full of beta­-carotene, now shown to be an important weapon in the battle against cancer.

The more that researchers study plants and their properties, the more benefits they discover from every organic compound in nature. Everything, it seems, is there for a reason. The most interesting discovery of all though, is that the latest research confirms the herbal traditions healers have practiced for centuries.

By the time most of the ancient civilisations were thriving, therapeutic use of essential oils was part of everyday life. The Egyptians, in 4500 BC, used myrrh and cedarwood oils for embalming and, 6500 years later, perfectly preserved mummies are proof of their skills.

Modern research has shown that cedarwood contains a natural fixative and myrrh has strong anti­bacterial and antiseptic agents, which explains why most mummies look so good for their age.

The Egyptians were the first to distil plants in order to extract their essential oils. They used them medicinally, in religious ceremonies, as beautifying skin and face potions and perfumes, as well as for embalming. Oils were so highly prized they were offered to the gods. The high priests recorded the oils’ therapeutic uses and known properties on papyrus scrolls, along with the secret recipes that used them. Their knowledge was so accurate that it makes up the basis of modern aromatherapy.

The Romans, on the other hand, used essential oils for giving pleasure as much as for curing pain, and had leisurely, perfumed baths and massages every day. Emperor Nero’s love of orgies, feasts and fragrances is legendary. His most favourite oil was rose because it cured headaches, indigestion and lifted the spirits, thereby making it possible for him to keep on partying. Another Roman favourite was chamomile, used to treat skin complaints and help heal wounds, and now known to contain azulene, a natural anti-inflammatory agent, which is why it has such a rejuvenating effect on skin.

In Greece, India, China and Arabia the use of aromatics thrived. But it wasn’t until the 12th century that perfumery and herbalism spread to Europe. By the time of the Great Plague in 1665, it was so well established that Londoners burnt bundles of lavender, cedar and cypress in the streets, and carried posies of the same plants as their only defence against infectious disease. And it undoubtedly saved thousands of lives, since these plants all contain powerful antiseptic agents.

Plants were used to make all medicines and remedies until the turn of the century, Herbalists and apothecaries dispened infusions, ointments and powders for everything from hair loss to impotence. But ‘modern’ medicine soon took over, with pharma­ceutical scientists creating tiny, magical pills which made many of the natural remedies seem primitive and old-fashioned. By the 1960s, the world focused on the advances made in surgery, hospitals and doctoring while research into herbal cures took second place.

His family owned a perfumery business. One day, while working in the laboratory, Gattefosse badly burnt his hand and plunged it .into a vat of lavender essential oil. When the burn healed quickly without blistering, Gattefosse began his lifelong obsession – studying the therapeutic properties of plant oils.

And so, modem aromatherapy was born. Since then, many enthusiasts, such as Dr Jean Valnet, have taken research further. Valnet used oils extensively to treat wounded soldiers during World War II. But it was a French women biochemist, Marguente Maury, who developed the method of diluting and applying essential oils by massage that we know as aromatherapy today.

It is only since the 1980s that modem aromatherapy has come of age. Biochemists have recently isolated dozens of ingredients in essential oils that account for the amazing properties they have. And now that the folk remedies have been substantiated by scientific fact, aromatherapy has become widely accepted and more popular than ever before.