--- title: 5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain description: Feeling achy from a running injury? "Given time, your body will usually start to heal on its own," says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the... canonical: https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-24T12:00:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:59:57.157Z article:section: Health og:title: 5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain og:description: Feeling achy from a running injury? "Given time, your body will usually start to heal on its own," says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the... og:url: https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a5c8a7c7a6a9c7d/69869085d0b6f2a210304667/121382799.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5146 og:image:height: 2895 og:image:alt: Treat Aches and Pains at Home og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain twitter:description: Feeling achy from a running injury? "Given time, your body will usually start to heal on its own," says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a5c8a7c7a6a9c7d/69869085d0b6f2a210304667/121382799.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=6d6d6676-99cb-4fe7-b7fa-75079c80c8e4&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor May 24, 2014 12:00 PM UTC  Woman jogger holding injured ankle Woman jogger holding injured ankle PM Images—Getty Images by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor May 24, 2014 12:00 PM UTC Feeling achy from a running injury? “Given time, your body will usually start to heal on its own,” says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery, in New York City. If the pain lasts for more than 10 to 14 days, or if it’s very sudden or severe (meaning you can’t walk without pain or it’s noticeably swollen), it’s time to visit a doctor. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to help speed your recovery. (**Health.com:** [11 Fitness Foods to Help You Get in Shape Faster](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20799877,00.html?xid=Time-injuries-052014)) **Ice** Most injuries start with inflammation, so icing right away can help. Keep cooling sessions to no more than 20 minutes at a time to prevent frostbite or other skin damage. (**Health.com**: [7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20815219,00.html?xid=Time-injuries-052014)) **Heat** If you’re still hurting after two or three days, try switching from ice to a heating pad, which will increase blood flow to the affected area and speed healing. (**Health.com:** [Exercises That Help Prevent Knee Pain)](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20600989,00.html?xid=Time-injuries-052014) **Stretch** Once your pain is gone, gently take the muscles and joints through their full range of motion to reduce stiffness and aid in recovery. Stretch several times daily. **Tape** Kinesiology tape (KT) may reduce swelling, take pressure off overused muscles and cut pain. Research on its value is limited, notes Dr. Callahan, but if it seems to help you, stick with it. (**Health.com:** [25 Exercises You Can Do Anywhere](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20788704,00.html?xid=Time-injuries-052014) ) **Cross-train** A running injury doesn’t have to mean a total break from exercise. Try doing some low-impact workouts (Spinning, swimming) to keep your fitness up while your body heals. [_5 Ways to Treat Injuries and Speed Recovery_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20745351,00.html?xid=Time-injuries-052014) _originally appeared on Health.com._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/"},"headline":"5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain","datePublished":"2014-05-24T12:00:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:59:57.157Z","description":"Feeling achy from a running injury? \"Given time, your body will usually start to heal on its own,\" says Lisa Callahan, MD, co-director of the...","url":"https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","medicine","Injury","Pain"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a5c8a7c7a6a9c7d/69869085d0b6f2a210304667/121382799.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Health.com","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/health-com/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a5c8a7c7a6a9c7d/69869085d0b6f2a210304667/121382799.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Treat Aches and Pains at Home","caption":"Treat Aches and Pains at Home","creditText":"PM Images—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/109049/5-drug-free-home-remedies-for-pain/","name":"5 Drug-Free Home Remedies For Pain"}}]}] ```