Pain Relief for Athletes: What Works Best?

Muscle-relaxing gels: Do they work?
In related news, another popular remedy for overuse injuries is being called an unproven waste of money in a new report. In fact, the lead researcher has gone as far as to say you “might as well rub your skin with a bit of spit,” rather than use over-the-counter creams, heat gels, and other rub-on or spray-on gels containing salicylates.

These products, which include Aspercreme, BenGay, and Icy Hot, proved no better than placebo creams at relieving pain and discomfort when tested in several large, high-quality studies. The review did not cover gels and creams whose main ingredients were capsaicin, or other NSAID medications, and the study authors reported that some of these creams do seem to help relieve pain in some cases.

Some experts still support salicylate creams, and they say that the warming action they offer may be enough to help people feel better. For me, just the smell of BenGay makes me think of the high school locker room and injury recovery—and I believe there might be a bit of a placebo effect in there. But if you’re going to spend money on these creams, it’s important to know exactly what has and has not been proven.

Stretching and strengthening: The best prevention?
The best cure for sports-related pain and injuries, however, is to prevent them in the first place—and the best way to do that is with proper conditioning, including adequate stretching and strengthening. When I finally did get in to see my physical therapist, she basically told me what I already knew: I didn’t have a real injury, at least nothing more than slight overuse and general weakness. My knees were bothering me not because I’d torn or broken anything, but because the muscles around my knees—mainly my quads and hips—weren’t strong enough or flexible enough to support all the pavement pounding I’ve been doing.

So I’ve been attending physical therapy twice a week, where I work on stretching my calves, quads, hamstrings, and iliotibial bands (with moves like these); do exercises to strengthen those muscles (with resistance bands, balance boards, and ankle weights); and sit for 10 minutes with ice packs on my knees. It’s mostly stuff I could do on my own at home, but probably wouldn’t have the patience or the motivation to take my time and do it right.

I’ve also rediscovered my love for another type of stretching and strengthening: yoga. After every long run or bike ride, my stiff muscles remind me of how important it is to really take the time to stretch out and stay limber—and I’ve recently been experimenting with several different types of yoga classes to keep me that way.

In my next post, I’ll discuss more about how athletes of all types, especially runners, bikers, and swimmers, can benefit from and help stay pain-free with yoga.

How do you handle joint or muscle pain when training for a big event? Share your coping strategies here. With just over a week until my big event, I’ve entered the tapering stage of my training and luckily won’t have to worry about overuse for the next few days. Race day, on the other hand, may be a different story!

Previous posts by Amanda MacMillan: