Muscle rubs not always best for chronic pain
(Los Angeles Times) UPDATED 2009-07-08
A review of studies on the effectiveness of muscle rubs has found that these topical treatments aren't always the best choice for treating pain. The review by researchers at the Cochrane Library compared the effectiveness of rubefacients--topical rubs that cause skin redness by dilating the capillaries and increasing blood flow--to topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). All of these treatments contained salicylate, a close drug relative of aspirin. The investigators found that in 16 studies involving nearly 1,300 patients, creams containing salicylate performed slightly better than a placebo for acute and chronic pain. But only one in six patients with chronic pain from conditions like osteoarthritis benefited substantially from using the muscle rubs. One in three using NSAID painkiller gels like ibuprofen or diclofenac benefitted, researchers say.
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