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 JULY 31, 2009 Muscle Rubs Questionable For Aches and Pains Most people have used a liniment or muscle rub to relieve the aches and pains of exercise. But do they really work? Not much, according to the latest systematic review by Cochrane Researchers. The review analysed data from 16 trials for acute and chronic pain including a total of 1,276 people that used rubs containing salicylates, which is a form of aspirin. Seven studies included acute conditions such as strains, knee and ankle sprains, and lower back injuries. Nine studies included chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis, bursitis, older sports injuries, and rheumatic back pain. In the acute studies, topical salicylates performed better than placebos, but this advantage was wiped out when researchers eliminated lower quality studies from the analysis. In the chronic studies, salicylates performed somewhat better than placebos. One in six patients with chronic pain benefited substantially from using a muscle rub. Sports doctors don't fully understand how liniments work. The actual massaging action of rubbing in the liniment, working it into muscles, may relax the muscle. When you rub in liniments like Aspercreme, which contains a salicylate, or Ben Gay and Icy Hot, which contain menthol, your skin becomes irritated. This causes an increase in blood flow to the area. This also produces heat, which relaxes stiff muscles. Another type of rub contains capsaicin, which is a hot-pepper derivative that was added to some of the products tested in the Cochrane Review. Capsaicin-containing ointments are prescribed for arthritis pain. These hotter rubs have a much stronger irritating effect on the skin to stimulate blood flow. They give off so much heat that you can actually burn yourself, especially if you have fair skin. Go slowly when you use them until you can see how your skin reacts. |
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