NEW YORK (Reuters) -- After that long workout or blocked tackle, some athletes reach for non-prescription muscle creams to soothe injury or pain. But, an expert in sports medicine questions the medicinal value of using these creams.
"The heat generated during the process of applying it probably helps more than the cream itself," says Dr. Lon Castle, clinical instructor at the Baylor College Sports Medicine Institute in Houston.
The problem is that muscle creams can't penetrate the skin, according to Castle. "They don't penetrate from the skin through the epidermal layers, through the subcutaneous tissues, and then through the fascial covering of the muscles, all the way into the muscles."
Castle says manufacturers might make any number of claims about the medicinal value of various creams, "but I don't think the literature will bear out any of those claims. No one's ever proven that they penetrate that deeply."
It's the action of rubbing, itself, which seems to be the main benefit. "If you just got some aloe lotion, or any kind of lotion, used it on your hand and massaged the area, you'd probably get the same amount of physiologic response," Castle explains.
He says the only ingredient in muscle lotions that may be reassuring to injured athletes is menthol, which gives the skin around an injury a warm tingly feeling.
He thinks one factor at work may be the mental perception of healing. "If you believe that the creams work for you, then the creams will work for you, that's the bottom line," Castle says. "Your mind is an incredibly powerful tool to help you heal."
He adds that after muscle strain or injury, the application of ice is actually better than warming the afflicted area. "Rubbing or warming the area after injury might feel great, but the problem is that it allows more inflammatory cells into the injured area, and it'll take longer to heal." By contrast, he explains, "ice constricts the blood vessels and allows fewer of those cells into the injured area, causing less swelling."
