Which is the best pain relieving gel?
People from Willunga, Aldinga and McLaren Vale often ask our Physio team, what is the best cream for pain relief.
There are lots to choose from, so how do you choose?
Here, our Physio Tom Anthoney helps you work out what will help most.
There is some good advertising around for Voltaren Gel. You may have seen it on TV during the tennis with an umpire reaching for it to ease his Low back Pain (LBP.)
Unfortunately, there is no good evidence to show that it helps with LBP at all, any more than rubbing in a bit of moisturiser.
Perhaps it was the back rub itself that prompted his amazing recovery 🙂
It does however help arthritic joints
Eg Arthritic Knees , Wrists and ankles
Recent research suggests Voltaren Gel rubbed into the knee joint is not as helpful as taking Voltaren tablets orally, but is still helpful and with much fewer side effects*
What about Tennis Elbow and Achiles Tendonitis??
Again the answer here is NO. It doesn’t help with these conditions, except for the first 48 hours after injury.
Not as much as NUROFEN gel !! With Difflam also more effective.
But aren’t they all Anti Inflammatory Gels?
Yes they are all Anti I ‘s but they are different drug/ chemicals and work in a different way.
For Tendonitis, like Tennis elbow, Nurofen gel, and Difflam Gel has been shown to have a more beneficial effect than Voltaren *
So what works best for Back Pain?
Back Pain tends to respond better to heat creams, like the Sports Release our Physios Use
Sports Release, FisioCrem and then Flexall, tend to work best -in that order, especially when the weather is cooler.