Laura Ramirez, D.C., graduated with a doctorate in chiropractic from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (now the South California University of Health Sciences) in 1990. After practicing in Long Beach, California, Dr. Ramirez moved to Burlington, Vermont in 1991 to start her own practice. Since then, she has enjoyed a thriving referral-based practice that revolves around improving biomechanics through joint function and muscle flexibility.
Why she founded Alta Ray:
In more than 30 years spent treating pain, Dr. Ramirez has fielded hundreds of requests from patients for products that could help treat pain — and for years, she demurred, unconvinced that any topical product on the market was effective enough to recommend.
Then Dr. Ramirez started suffering from excruciating joint pain that no one could identify. Hijacked by pain that interfered with her work, her daily routine, and time spent doing things she loved, she started working on making her own formulations, seeking a pain-relief product that she could use safely at home on a daily basis.
As she started researching and combining ingredients, Dr. Ramirez realized that her most successful formulations were the result of powerful partnerships. That black pepper enhances absorption of turmeric (a natural anti inflammatory), making it even more potent. Or that certain ingredients could provide both aromatherapy benefits and pain relief. In short, nature's most powerful ingredients worked synergistically to remedy pain.
Realizing that her formulations mimicked her approach to her chiropractic practice —which focuses on the intimate relationships within the body — Dr. Ramirez struck upon a muscle rub that relieved pain and was pleasant to use. With SALT & PEPPER as her first product, she launched Alta Ray in 2021.
Pain relief powered by nature
Inspired by her great-grandmother’s
homemade liniments and powered by some of nature’s most potent ingredients, Alta Ray’s muscle rubs, liniments and lotions provide pain relief for a broad range of conditions.
Created by Dr. Laura Ramirez, the naturally derived products in the Alta Ray line harness the power of nature to inspire relief and healing. Mirroring Dr. Ramirez’s approach to her practice — which focuses on finding and creating biomechanical balance throughout the body — the products in the Alta Ray line are derived from potent natural ingredients that work synergistically to remedy pain.
Ingredients
The ingredients in Alta Ray’s pain-relief lotions provide relief without relying on opioids or other prescription painkillers. By utilizing ingredients that enhance and compound each other, we’ve created some powerful pain-relief partnerships that are both science-backed and naturally derived. We also use essential oils for added aromatherapy benefits.
Using CBD to treat pain
Some of our products also contain cannabidiol, or CBD.
Derived from cannabis — but without the psychoactive properties that get you high — CBD has many science backed benefits, including pain relief. It’s also a nod to Dr. Ramirez’s great-grandmother.
A descendent of the ancient Aztecs, Dr. Ramirez’s great-grandmother used to keep a Mason jar with marijuana and lavender steeping in witch hazel and alcohol in her room. As a child, Dr. Ramirez would watch her rub the liniment on her hands to soothe her arthritis; decades later, Dr. Ramirez credits her Abuela for the idea to experiment with adding CBD to her formulas.
We source our CBD from a company in Vermont that does third-party testing to analyze the quantity of CBD is being used per ounce, and to certify that it doesn’t contain more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabidinol (THC), which is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. We’re one of the few companies using third-party testing of our CBD. That means that you won’t get high from the CBD in our products — but you probably will feel better.
Research
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2016 Study
In a 2016 study, researchers found that applying topical CBD may help with arthritis-related pain and swelling in rats.
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2020 Study
A 2020 study found that topical applications of CBD may help reduce intense pain, sharp pain, and cold and itchy sensations in people with peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage that causes numbness and pain).
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2019 Study
A 2019 study found that people with a specific kind of facial pain that mainly affects the jaw found relief after applying topical CBD twice a day for two weeks.