My friend Steve plays acoustical guitar, both 6-string and 12-string. We met over 40 years ago at a church-sponsored retreat, and are still singing together every Saturday night at our local church. However, now that we’re in our mid-60s, our bodies are showing some wear and tear.
Steve’s hands are beginning to bother him, especially in winter weather. Last week he asked me what he could do to relieve the stiffness. “Should I try the CBD oil that everyone’s talking about?”
“Well, CBD might help, but it’s pretty expensive compared to other options you could try first. Does a heating pad help your hand pain and stiffness?”
“Heat helps, but I need something I can rub on my hands.”
There are several types of muscle rubs made from natural sources that Steve could try, including methyl salicylate (wintergreen), camphor, menthol, eucalyptus, and capsaicin. These natural agents have been used for decades to treat aching muscles and stiff joints. Working locally instead of affecting your entire system, they can be added to pain medications like Tylenol®, ibuprofen, or naproxen without risking toxicity or overdose.
Methyl salicylate, camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus relieve the discomfort of muscle aches by creating a distracting sensation of warmth or coolness. Instead of calming or blocking nerves, they work instead as counterirritants.
Counterirritants work by triggering sensory nerves located in your skin, creating a feeling of intense warmth or soothing coolness. This nerve stimulation keeps nerves busy transmitting soothing sensations to your brain, instead of discomfort.
Counterirritants also create mild inflammation, increasing blood flow to the area that causes warmth and redness, similar to applying a heating pad.
Old-time remedies like mustard plasters work as counterirritants. Applying a mustard slurry to your chest for 15-20 minutes creates redness, warmth, and increased blood flow for up to 48 hours after it is removed. Mustard plasters must be removed from the skin within 20 minutes to avoid causing blistering and more severe burns.
Many counterirritants have a distinctive smell. Methyl salicylate is known as wintergreen oil and has a strong wintergreen scent. At the same time, menthol is extracted from peppermint oil and smells like mint.
Although menthol is the sole ingredient of Mineral Ice®, most muscle rubs, balms and creams contain multiple compounds. Tiger Balm® Arthritis Rub contains both menthol and camphor. Ben-Gay® Ultra Strength Pain Relieving Cream contains 3 different agents: methyl salicylate, menthol, and camphor.
If Steve wanted to avoid smelling like a breath mint, he could choose the odorless formula of Aspercreme®. It contains a scent-free cousin of methyl salicylate called trolamine salicylate.
Luckily, Steve has other options besides a counterirritant. Capsaicin is a natural compound derived from hot chili peppers. It relieves pain by triggering the release of a nerve messenger called Substance P in the skin. Substance P’s job is to tell your brain that you have pain. If you apply capsaicin to your knee, it immediately flushes out Substance P in the tissue it touches. Without the help of Substance P, your brain won’t get the message that your knee hurts.
When you apply capsaicin, the release of Substance P causes moderately intense burning and tingling. This is followed by less pain sensation for several hours, up to 8-10 hours of pain relief.
As your body builds up more Substance P, you’ll feel tingling and burning. At that point, if you reapply capsaicin, you’ll have another stretch of pain relief.
Capsaicin is extracted from pepper, so it’s essential to wash your hands after applying it. Believe me, if you rub your eye with capsaicin on your finger, you’ll know it! I highly recommend using the roll-on applicator of capsaicin, so you can avoid touching it altogether.
Here Are 5 Tips for Applying Topical Non-Prescription Pain Relievers:
- They are best suited for small areas that are easy to reach.
Small areas that you can reach easily are good choices to add a counterirritant for relief of occasional discomfort or breakthrough pain.
- Avoid applying to broken skin.
Counterirritants work by causing localized irritation and can burn sensitive and broken skin.
- Camphor can create either a warming or cooling sensation.
Camphor causes both a cooling sensation when gently applied and warmth when rubbed more vigorously into your skin.
- Apply capsaicin with a roll-on stick.
Applying capsaicin with a roll-on stick instead of your fingers keeps its pepper-based extract away from your face and eyes.
- Reapply capsaicin when you first notice tingling or burning.
As Substance P builds back up, the tingling and burning sensation you felt when you first applied capsaicin to your skin will start to return. For best results controlling pain, reapply capsaicin to the affected area when you first notice tingling.
