Video: This pain relief grows on trees

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Kim Adair fights a daily battle with arthritis.

"With 10 being the worst, I would say it's about a 7 or 8,” she said.

But she recently found relief in a study at Baylor University using cherries.

"They have a lot of the same properties that common anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen or naproxen will have," said Dr. John Cush, Rheumatologist.

Kim took cherry extract gel caps.

"I think about maybe three months, I didn't notice any pain at all," she said.

"Overall, about five out of six patients did very well in the study," said Dr. Cush.

Another plus, cherries don’t have the side effects of prescription drugs.

As soon as the study ended and Kim stopped taking the gel caps, her pain returned.

So she's eating cherries and drinking cherry juice.

"There has been a big difference," she said.

A larger study is under way, but Kim is convinced.

"When I'm stress free and pain free, I'm very happy," she said.

An earlier study found that tart cherries could reduce pain and inflammation brought on by strenuous exercise. The darker the cherry, the better.