There’s no bigger pain than chronic pain. Wherever and whatever it is—lower back, knees, neck, shoulder or arthritic—the pain is persistent and severely affects quality of life.

As big a pain chronic pain can be—in the literal and figurative sense—it’s compounded by the endless searching for treatment options. And because of the veritable glut of treatment options found online, on bookshelves, on street signs and on television, it can literally take years before finding the right treatment option that works.

Take heart, however: Relief is on the way. According to a recent study, the healing balm for chronic pain may literally be under our noses…not to mention our feet, hands, arms and thighs.

In the journal Current Biology, researchers from Scotland at the University of Edinburgh outline the history of mint oil used on sprains, joint pains and inflammation the ancient Greeks used as a vehicle to revitalize receptors beneath the skin that prevent pain messages from reaching the brain. The researchers have since created a similar compound that seems to mirror the effectiveness of the ancient Greek’s mint oil.

The receptors found beneath the skin are known as TRPM8, which are a bundle of nerve cells beneath the skin. The researchers say that by applying the mint oil topically to the pain-riddled area, it reduces pain caused by arthritis, nerve damage or spinal injury—a great boon for the thousands of people whose pain has not been allayed by morphine and other painkillers.

“Conventional painkillers such as morphine are often ineffective in cases of chronic pain and simply lowering the temperature of the skin is too inexact,” said Susan Fleetwood-Walker, professor at the University of Edinburgh. Walker led the researching team in concert with Dr. Rory Mitchell. Fleetwood-Walker continues, saying, “Our discovery means that patients can be given low doses of a powerful pain killer, delivered through the skin, without side effects.”

There have been no clinical trials as of yet on the new compound, but Fleetwood-Walker is hopeful that they will begin within the year.

It seems like the health news this week has been geared toward steering consumers away from pharmaceutical giants. But this is for good reason, not the least of which is the fact that the answers to most health-related problems—chronic and acute—are achieved naturally.

Students of history certainly know this. In fact, they may even wonder why this most recent finding wasn’t discovered sooner. The ancient Greek mathematician and physician Hippocrates used similar methods to relieve his pains, going so far as to write the following in his text “Aphorisms”: Swellings and pains in the joints, ulceration, those of a gouty nature, and sprains, are generally improved by a copious affusion of cold water, which reduces the swelling and removes the pain…”

Is it any wonder why we study history? After all, to paraphrase the Greek historian Thucydides, history is our best key to the future due to its tendency to repeat itself.