OXFORD, England, Jul 10, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Over-the-counter sport creams
and heat gels are unproven and may do no more than rubbing your skin with
saliva, a British biochemist said.
"The point is, you go to any pharmacy and find tons of these things, but they
don't work," Andrew Moore, a biochemist at the University of Oxford, said. "I
wouldn't waste the money. You might as well rub your skin with a bit of spit."
Moore's team reviewed studies of rub-on and spray-on preparations containing one
or more salicylates. Aspirin, for example, is a salicylate. Well-known brands
such as Aspercreme, Ben Gay and Icy Hot balms contain salicylates and often
menthol additives.
The preparations are thought to work by producing a warmth -- and strong smell
-- that distracts users from their musculoskeletal pain but does nothing to heal
the injury, Moore said in the current issue of the Cochrane Library, which
evaluates healthcare research.
Rather than use salicylate preparations, Moore suggests topical anesthetics
containing capsaicin, a hot-pepper derivative which is effective for some
strains, sprains and neuropathic pain.
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