Error: Contact form not found.
Whether you are sore after starting a new workout routine or you pulled something carrying groceries, everyone deals with muscle or joint pain at some point. A national survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) concluded that over half of Americans experience muscle or joint pain daily.
Neck, back, knees, shoulders, hips, elbows. Muscles or joints. Whatever “it” is, it hurts.
Many people with chronic pain simply give up and decide it’s always going to hurt. Others resort to expensive prescription opiates and medication. While these medicines are highly effective for some people, they come with potential side effects, including increased risk of Gastrointestinal upset, liver or kidney concerns, and while the risk for these next two are quite low it is still elevated by oral pain relievers, heart attack and stroke.
Topical medicines, in forms such as patches, creams and gels, can be effective in easing muscle and joint pains, without the potential side effects associated with oral pain medicine.
As globe-trotting medical doctor, TV Host, and award winning journalist, Dr. Bob Arnot likes to say, “topical first”. Dr. Arnot is also an avid athlete who excels as a Paddleboard World Championship award winner. Living such an active lifestyle, Dr. Bob is no stranger to aches and pains.Dr. Arnot returns to Late Night Health to talk with Mark Alyn about pain.
“I learned long ago that oral pain relievers can carry a high price in terms of side effects, even acetaminophen,” says Dr. Bob. “I competed three years ago having taken 5 ibuprofens and suffered debilitating gastritis and reflux the whole way. Since then I have used topical pain relief which has virtually no risk of systemic problems and starts working right away.”
Now Dr. Bob relies topical pain relief instead of oral meds so that he doesn’t suffer from unintended side effects. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic most of us have heard of already. Now it’s available in a new liquid and cream product, as well as a gel patch, from Salonpas® .
