What's the story behind sports creams? They claim to rub away the pain of achy joints and muscles but are they a help or a hype? It depends on whom you ask. Manufacturers of products like BenGay, Thermacare, IcyHot and others say their topical pain relieving creams and gels work to decrease pain caused by exercise, injury or illnesses like arthritis. They've been on the market for decades which indicates some consumers must find them helpful.
Physicians and sports medicine experts however, are skeptical. A recent article in the New York Times explores the question of whether sports creams really work because of their active ingredients or because of a placebo effect. The Mayo Clinic and American College of Sports Medicine say there's no evidence to support or refute claims that analgesic creams work. That may simply means there haven't been a lot of research on how or why these creams effect pain. A healthy $275 million dollar sports cream sales market however, says plenty of consumers think they're at least worth a try
Here's how sports creams "work." You rub a little of the usually pungent smelling cream onto a sore spot, like an arthritic knee or overworked calf muscle then feel a rapid cold or warm sensation. Many consumers find it soothing. What happens next? There's no evidence that any specific change happens on a cellular level at the location where you rub the cream. That doesn't mean, however, that nothing's happening. That's where the placebo effect may come in.
The word "placebo" gets a bad rap, insinuating that whatever effect you experience is only in your mind and therefore, invalid. When you consider where the pain response is generated, however, in our nervous system, which is controlled by the brain, there's reason to believe pain relief is indeed, in your mind. The mind-body connection is highly intuitive and sensitive to suggestion. If the message these analgesic creams send the brain is one for pain relief and healing, and the brain responds by providing relief, who's to say that's invalid? Whatever works.
There's no specific evidence that one sports cream "works" better than any other. They're also not completely harmless. There have been isolated cases of deaths associated with overdose from methyl salicylate - an aspirin product that is the active ingredient in many sports creams. Safety labels advise that consumers use creams only as directed and to discontinue use if pain persists. Makers of major brands insist they're safe when used correctly. Poison control experts warn they must be kept out of the reach of children, are dangerous when swallowed and can lead to death by poisoning.
