Day 3 Blogging Olympics: Fibromyalgia and Four Topical Pain Relief Options

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A lot of the time, those of us with Fibromyalgia become so accustomed to coping in the ways that have worked in the past, that we forget about some simple topical pain relief options that actually can help for certain types of pain. 

Normally, I use ice packs or heating pads or pain medication (either over the counter or prescription depending on severity), but sometimes this is just not possible or I need something a little more mobile.  

Also, I don’t actually like taking pills, so I prefer to try everything else before reaching for the bottle of pills. As a result, I’ve tried a lot of topical pain treatments and have compiled this list of my top four favorites. 

These four topical relief options tend to work best for muscle pain and sometimes muscle spasms, which for me tend to be located in my lower back, between my shoulder blades, and my neck.  These can actually be used just about anywhere you feel pain on your body.

Some of the topical choices can be purchased at most drug stores (like Walgreens, Rite Aid), chain stores (like Walmart, Fred Meyers) and some grocery stores (like Safeway, Albertsons). 

There are probably other stores that carry some of these topical options for relief as well.  Also, most of the products available in stores are available at Amazon as well.

Only one of the topical options is only available by prescription in the United States (not sure about other countries).

These are my top four favorite products for topical relief and a brief review of the product. These just happen to be the four items that help me the most and don’t antagonize my nostrils to the point that I won’t use them (I am sometimes VERY sensitive to smells). 

As with everything with Fibromyalgia, these products may or may not work for you. Also, please understand that I’m not saying they will make the Fibromyalgia go away, these options can simply help alleviate certain types of pain, especially muscle spasms, muscle pain, and some nerve pain.

Before trying something new, please consider talking to your medical team about it to make sure it doesn’t contain something that may interact with other medications, supplements, or allergies you may have.

My Top Four Favorite Topical Pain Relief Options

1.     Liboderm Patches

They are patches filled with an anesthetic Lidocaine.  Liboderm Patches get 5 STARS from me when it comes to topical pain relief, if any kind of topical pain relief is going to work this one will for me.

The Liboderm patches are the only form of topical relief that actually last for up to 12 hours and they help not only with muscle pain, but actually numb the whole area in which they are placed helping with some of the nerve pain I experience as well.  I also like that I can cut them into pieces to actually fit the area in pain and use the other pieces later.  

Additionally, they don’t smell funny too me and they don’t feel exceptionally hot or cold. They also really aren’t that expensive if you have health insurance. 

Downfalls: The only downfalls are that it requires a prescription from a doctor in the United States (not sure about other countries) to get them and you can’t wear them when you are in the shower or swimming, which is pretty much like any of the patches and some of the creams. 

  

Although it requires a prescription, I’ve never had any doctor have any issues with prescribing them, they don’t seem to fall into the same realm of concerns that many of the narcotic pain relievers do.

If you’d like more information on the medical side of Liboderm patches (how they work, possible side effects, etc), please check out this link http://www.rxlist.com/lidoderm-drug.htm.

2.   BioFreeze

The primary helpful ingredient in BioFreeze is menthol and it works by breaking the pain cycle by using the menthol to block receptors from sending pain signals.  BioFreeze gets 4 ½ STARS from me.

I like that it come in different forms (roll-ons, gels, sprays, and adhesives).  I also like that I can buy it on Amazon.com now, previously I had to get it from my chiropractor or physical therapist.  It doesn’t stain your clothes.  It’s easy to apply.  

It smells a little weird to me at first, but the smell fades fairly quickly.   It has been a life saver a few times when I’ve overdone things without planning ahead and was able to simply pull it out of my purse to get through a few hours before heading home.  If you get a smaller bottle it will fit in your purse, if you get a larger bottle it will cost less per unit.

Downfalls:  It doesn’t work as well as the Liboderm patches for me.  The price may seem a little high, but if you are only using it for occasional symptom relief then a bottle can last a long time. You can also choose what size and type you are getting (if you buy from Amazon). 

Unfortunately the actual pain relieving effects usually only last an hour or two for me. I also don’t like that I have an intense feeling of cold from them.

BioFreeze feels like an icepack at first, which I find uncomfortable.  I prefer heat and only use cold packs or gels if I need to get inflammation to go down in specific areas.

If you’d like to learn more about BioFreeze, check out this link http://www.biofreeze.com/.

3.   Tiger Balm

Tiger Balm has two primary active ingredients, camphor and menthol, along with a variety of other natural herbs in most of their products.  I give the Tiger Balm Ultra 4 STARS.

Tiger Balm has variety of products including liniments, rubs, and patches, so you may want to check out their website and read up on them to decide what might work best for you, before stopping by nearly any drug store or chain store to get it.  Tiger Balm is also available on Amazon.com.

I prefer the Tiger Balm Ultra because it feels warm to me and it works quickly and lasts for a few hours (longer if I use the patch form).

Sometimes, I actually like the smell of it.  Smells like cinnamon and menthol to me, but sometimes the smell is just too overwhelming for me.

     Tiger Balm works really well for joint and muscle pain.

Downfalls: I had trouble opening the jar and actually needed help with it, especially the first time opening.  You need to remove it completely before taking a hot bath or using a heating pad. It says it doesn’t stain, but it actually did stain a white t-shirt for me once. 

You might think that because I usually prefer heat, Tiger Balm would have been rated higher than BioFreeze, but I find that BioFreeze lasts longer and doesn’t stain and doesn’t smell as strong after a few minutes. 

For more information about Tiger Balm, please visit their website at http://www.tigerbalm.com

4.   Icy Hot Medicated Patches & Creams

The primary active ingredient is Menthol. I give Icy Hot 4 STARS also. Icy Hot comes in patches, creams, and roll on. The one that seems to work best for me is the Extra Strength Icy Hot Pain Balm.

I like that it starts cold and then warms up. Seems to work better for inflammation and then relaxes my muscles. It claims to block pain signals from being sent to the brain from the area applied, and this does seem to be true, but it tends to be for a few hours at most for me.

I also like the icy hot sleeves for elbows and knees. These don’t tend to be the worst places for pain for me, but they do hurt occasionally and the sleeve fits on well and helps relieve the pain in those areas pretty well.

They are easily accessible to purchase and are actually a fairly inexpensive brand of these topical products. Icy Hot products can be found in nearly every drug store, chain stores, and on Amazon.

Downfalls: For some reason, I just couldn’t get over the smell.  Also, my family didn’t care much for the smell either. They do have a product that is supposed to have a vanishing scent that I haven’t tried, so perhaps that would be better.

The Icy Hot patches also didn’t last nearly as long as Liboderm patches. But the patches do last longer than the Tiger Balm patches for me.  Also every once in a while; I would get a patch that didn’t stick to my skin properly which was annoying.  

For more information on Icy Hot, please check out their website at http://www.icyhot.com/icyhot.html

In short, topical relief options will not cause all of your pain to go away if you have Fibromyalgia, but they can help keep the pain at a level that can allow you to keep moving sometimes for just a little bit longer.

I only listed the four products of the many that I have tried that I actually had some success with.  I did not even list the ones I’ve tried that the smell bothered me too much or they didn’t seem to work as well or they cost so much that I couldn’t get them consistently. 

I also am not a fan of the Aspercreme products, because I actually have a horrible stinging feeling every where it touches my skin. It's a weird side effect, that not everyone gets. I've been told it works really well for a lot of people with Fibromyalgia. 

I also cannot claim to have tried every product out there, so if you know of something that works better for you please share it with us!

Have you tried any of these topical pain relief options or another topical pain medication?  How does it work for you? Are your experiences similar to mine or different? Which do you prefer? 

With all the questions I’m asking, I should probably do a poll. But instead, I’m just hoping that some of you will respond and answer some of the questions or share your perspective on topical relief for treatment of pain.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the stores or any of the topical relief options companies mentioned in this article. I was not paid to review the products.  I do not own the copyrights or trademarks for the names of the products or stores.