How well do anti-inflammatory creams work??
Hello
This week I am going to talk to you about a study I found looking at how well anti-inflammatory creams work. The type that you rub onto a sore area. Creams like voltaren and panamor gel.
Any type of cream or gel that has anti-inflammatory properties.
Let us look at the evidence either for or against.
This study looked at all the studies they could find that examined how effective topical anti-inflammatory creams wear compared to placebo. Just to remind you, a placebo is when they give you something that doesn’t help at all, but you believe it will. Like how when we grew up the green smarties helped with an upset stomach.
They found that “Topical NSAIDs were superior to placebo in relieving pain due to osteoarthritis only in the first two weeks of treatment.”
” No benefit was observed over placebo in weeks 3 and 4. A similar pattern was observed for function, stiffness.”
“Topical NSAIDs were inferior to oral NSAIDs in the first week of treatment and associated with more local side effects such as rash, itch, or burning.”
So it seems that in beginning after a brand new injury, rubbing on an anti-inflammatory cream does work. Just after two weeks, it is no longer effective.
It seems like they discovered what we have always been saying, using something for a short while after a brand new injury works great, but if it is still there, long after the injury was supposed to have healed…. It no longer is doing anything for you but side effects and complications.
How long have you been using your creams and not getting any benefit?
Jason
