Cramp bark is the common name for the herb Viburnum opulus, a Native American herb that is, suggestive of its name, useful for muscular cramps and spasms. It is also commonly known as European cranberrybush, guilder rose and snowball tree.
It grows as an upright shrub with small white flowers that grow in clusters, it has dark green leaves and produces small berries that are red to black in colour. Despite their bitter and sour taste, the berries are used in traditional Russian and Ukrainian cuisine as a component of marmalades, jams, cordials and liqueurs.
However, the medicinal part of the plant is the bark, which has a strong characteristic odour and tastes a little bitter. The bark is removed in strips from the young shoots – this ensures that enough remains for the plant to continue growing.
Traditional use of cramp bark was predominately in Northern America and Canada, where it was used as an anti-abortive, for uterine prolapse and as a spasmolytic for cramping pains in all parts of the body. In the 19th century, Eclectic physicians used cramp bark in an array of conditions including painful menstruation, skeletal muscle cramping, ovarian pain, bladder spasms and heart palpitations.
Cramp bark has an affinity for smooth muscle in the body. Smooth muscles are found in the walls of our blood vessels and stomach, in the irises of the eye, in the respiratory tract, bladder and uterus. Cramp bark has what is known as musculospasmolytic activity (try saying that quickly!), which simply means it can help to provide relief from muscular tension and soreness.
Cramp bark is also rich in flavonoids and carotenoids. These are two types of antioxidants that can help to prevent cellular oxidation in the body from factors such as stress, pollution and poor diet.
Evidently, cramp bark is helpful for muscular cramping and pains, including period pain. If you’d like to try cramp bark as part of your supplement regime, you can find it in our product Period Pain Relief, which also contains magnesium and other traditional Western herbs to relieve muscle cramps and support healthy muscle contraction.
Consult your doctor or healthcare professional before trying any new supplements. If you experience severe muscle cramping or period pain, consult your doctor.
References
- Hechtman, L. (2012), Clinical Naturopathy, Chapter: The Female Reproductive System, pp. 827, Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier
- Polka, D., Podsedek, A., Koziolkiewicz, M. (2019), Comparison of Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Capacity of Fruit, Flower and Bark of Viburnum opulus, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 74(3): 436-442
- Shoemaker, S. (2019), What is Cramp Bark, and What Is It Used For? Healthline, cited 30/10/19, <https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cramp-bark-guelder-rose>
