Back pain is quite common; it is difficult to find a person who does not face this problem.
Also characteristic is the eternal problem of "lack of time" to go to the doctor, according to which most people prefer self-medication, for which they use actively advertised gels and ointments that eliminate back pain.
Along with these funds are actively advertised plasters. This remedy for back treatment has been known for a long time, but in recent years it has not enjoyed much popularity until major manufacturers take it up.
To understand whether such patches are really effective, you need to understand the possible causes of back pain.
Why does my back hurt?
Back pain can have many causes. The most harmless of these are minor injuries and sprains that a person can get during sports and during physical work.
Although in the absence of the necessary attention to such minor injuries, they can have very unpleasant "delayed" consequences, affecting the condition of the muscular corset of the back and the musculoskeletal system itself.
But in general, such minor injuries remind of themselves with pain for several days, after which they gradually disappear.
But the most common cause of severe back pain is osteochondrosis and its consequences.
This disease is dangerous because it develops gradually and in the early stages, when it can still be successfully treated, it does not manifest itself with any practical symptoms.
In the future, this disease causes the development of various pain syndromes, the formation of intervertebral hernias, etc.
If microtraumas of the back can still be ignored while waiting for the moment when they stop causing pain, then it will not work with osteochondrosis - when its effects appear, it is impossible to withstand severe pain for a long time and stillyou still have to go to the doctor.
In addition, if minor injuries are successfully removed with improvised means, then serious back diseases must be treated for years.
The main cause of pain in this disease is a violation of the nerve roots of the spinal cord. Such compression can occur for various reasons, but it is this compression that causes almost all pain syndromes.
Warming effect in the treatment of back pain
When treating injuries or diseases of the back, doctors almost always recommend "dry heat" along with the necessary medications.
This usually means wrapping the affected part of the body with a warm fluffy scarf - so that the back of the affected area is well "warmed".
This "dry heat" improves blood circulation, which reduces inflammation and swelling to some extent, leading to a reduction in pressure on the compressed nerve root.
Accordingly, the pain syndrome decreases. Of course, this method alone will not deal with severe pain, but it is quite suitable as a kind of aid.
In addition, it can be noted that the vast majority of folk recipes for back pain are based on this effect of warming the affected area of the back. And with not too intense pain, such methods are successful, although they do not allow you to get rid of the cause of their occurrence.
Heating as an alternative to tablets
When back pain occurs, doctors usually prefer medication. And such methods in most cases include the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which quickly relieve inflammation and reduce pain.
Therefore, NSAIDs have one main goal - to reduce pain, which in most cases they deal with successfully.
But such drugs have a serious drawback - the treatment of diseases of the back involves a very long use of them, in which side effects begin to appear.
The most common of these effects is dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, treatment for a herniated disc can last up to a year, and taking NSAIDs without significant effects on the patient's body can rarely last more than a month.
This leads to the fact that doctors are forced to prescribe such drugs in the minimum effective doses and seek alternative treatments.
First of all, they pay attention to gels and ointments, which are in large quantities in pharmacies.
But half of them are not appropriate in this case, as their whole effect is based on the action of all the same NSAIDs. Ointments of a "warming" nature are much more expensive and less common.
Another popular alternative now is the plaster, which is invisible, firmly attached to the back and quite effectively relieves back pain.
Types of back patches
Pepper plaster
The oldest and "deserved" is the banal pepper from plaster, which has been known for a long time. The principle of action is simple and clear - a special composition of black pepper is applied on a sticky surface, which has an irritating and warming effect when it touches the skin.
Perhaps the only disadvantage of such a patch is the excessive aggressiveness of the pepper, which at the slightest violation of the rules of use of the patch can lead to serious skin irritation.
And this will seriously limit the possibilities for treatment - the inflamed area can not be massaged, it is no longer possible to stick another plaster on it or apply a warming gel or ointment.
These shortcomings have led to the search for alternative warming compositions that will be applied to the patch with no less efficiency.
Anesthetize without warming - NSAID patch
Several manufacturers, without more fuss, decided to get around the problem of skin irritation simply and gracefully - the same non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are simply applied to the patch, which is gradually absorbed into the skin and has its therapeutic effect.
Thanks to this patch, back pain is removed quickly enough, the risk of irritation is minimal and the issue of overheating is also not worth it. But this patch also has drawbacks.
For example, they are definitely not suitable for those who prefer to do without "chemistry" if possible, as the main active ingredient is the same as in the tablets, only it enters the body through the skin, having all the same unpleasant side effects. .
Reflected heat
Another option is plasters that contain one or another "reflective" coating. It is not as important as the manufacturer specifically called it, the essence is the same - the heat released by the human body is reflected and accumulated, resulting in a warming effect.
Of course, such plasters have virtually no contraindications (because there is no active substance), but it is better to stick them not on the skin, but on the underwear.
"Miracle plasters" from China
There are a number of types of patches that have been developed in China based on local traditional medicine. The composition of such a patch contains many plant components, each of which (in theory) should have a certain therapeutic effect.
Such a patch is a very good choice for lovers of "natural" treatment, its only drawback is its unconfirmed effectiveness.