Muscle Rubs for Pain Not All That Great

Do you like to use a medicinal rub to soothe those aching muscles or sore joints? If so, you could be wasting your money, according to a review of studies that looked at the rubs’ effectiveness.

Muscle rubs and ointments are sold on the basis that rubbing them over the sore areas help relieve the aching from overuse. Some smell very strongly, while others claim to be more discreet. These are called rubefacients , which cause local irritation and redness, as blood flow increases to the skin surface.

The study review looked at rubs that contained salicylates , a pain-killing substance. Some are available over-the-counter and others are obtained by prescription.

The researchers found 16 studies of 1,276 people total with either acute or chronic pain. According to a press release issued by the publisher Wiley-Blackwell ,

Results from four studies showed topical salicylates performed better than placebos against acute pain, but excluding lower quality studies meant the results were not statistically significant. When used for chronic conditions, salicylates performed better than placebos. However, only one in six patients with chronic pain benefited substantially from using the muscle rubs compared to one in three using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

More studies are needed to look into this type of treatment though.

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