Don’t want to pop a pill? Try these other ways to ease the pain

AS MANY as 1.65 million people in Ireland live with some sort of chronic pain, according to Chronic Pain Ireland.

While there are plenty of products and gadgets that claim to help soothe away pain, how well do any of them work?

We asked GP Dr Clare Morrison to take a look at some of the newest DIY pain relievers on the market.

Based on her verdict, we then rated them. Unless otherwise stated, products are available in High Street pharmacies or online.

BRACE SUPPORTS KNEES AND BOOSTS BLOOD FLOW Lifemax Walking Massage Knee Protector, €49.90

CLAIM: A flexible, lightweight strap with three interchangeable pads that sit on the inside of the knee. Each pad has a different textured surface for a different level of massage. It’s said to provide ‘safe relief from joint pain’ for people with arthritis, gently massaging the knee as you move, improving blood flow and reducing pain.

EXPERT VERDICT: Research shows that wearing a correctly fitted knee brace can help significantly reduce osteoarthritis knee pain. This is a simple product to use, with clear instructions, but it’s impossible for this ‘one size fits all’ support to fit everyone. I don’t think this would suit someone with large knees and it might pinch or fall down quite easily if your knees were the ‘wrong’ shape.

But if it is the right size and shape, it should offer useful support and comfort and the massage pads will boost blood flow while their action on the skin could help override pain signals. 3/5

PEN TO KNOCK BACK TENNIS ELBOW Paingone Pen, €47.20

CLAIM: A pen-shaped tool that works like a mini TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machine, a form of pain relief often used in childbirth. With the device on the painful area, click a button on the top of it 30 to 40 times. This sends a series of tiny electrical impulses through the skin, stimulating the brain to send endorphins — natural painkillers — to the area, it’s claimed. EXPERT VERDICT: The sensation from the pen is uncomfortable, but bearable. It can be used to help different types of nagging, moderate pain such as sciatica, and tennis elbow. The pain needs to be in an area that you can reach easily, unless you have someone to apply the treatment for you and would be difficult for anyone with arthritic hands to use. It’s also quite noisy. 2/5

ELECTROMAGNETIC WIRE TACKLES PAIN ActiPatch Muscle and Joint Pain Advance, €24.99

CLAIM: ‘Relieves muscle and joint soreness, strains and sprains, arthritis and more.’ This consists of a flexible wire loop to place around the painful area, attaching it to the skin using supplied medical adhesives.

The loop produces 1,000 electromagnetic pulses a second to penetrate the skin to reach nerves and muscles, dampening the brain’s perception of pain, stimulating cell repair, boosting circulation, relaxing muscles and stimulating nerve cells to release dopamine, a natural pain reliever. Can be used continuously.

EXPERT VERDICT: Nerve cells — which transmit the sensation of pain to the brain — can remain in a high state of activity even after an injury has healed. This device dampens the sensation of pain transmitted by the nervous system, helping overstimulated nerve cells recover.

My husband tested this on his back pain and was impressed. The skin and muscles within the wire loop felt pleasantly warm and this did seem to help to soothe away soreness and pain. 5/5

SOFT PACK TO RELAX MUSCLES TheraPearl Hot/Cold Back Wrap with strap, €19.26

CLAIM: A soft pack filled with tiny balls of gel that can be chilled in the freezer or warmed in a microwave, then strapped onto the body to soothe away pain or swelling ‘within 20 minutes’. EXPERT VERDICT: Applied cold, this will help to reduce pain and swelling immediately after a muscle or tendon injury, by reducing blood flow and inflammation. For long-term pain, it’s better used warm — this helps dilate blood vessels, increasing the flow of blood and nutrients to damaged areas to relax muscles and speed healing. Warmth will also help override pain sensations. 4/5

MASSAGE STICK REDUCES TENSION Back Nodger, €38.49

CLAIM: ‘Instant relief, shiatsu self-massage stick. Reaches the places you can’t to release painful tension in the shoulders, neck and back.’ A robust, curved steel stick with a rubber-like tip — called the ‘nodger’ — that can be pressed and wiggled on to painful knots and tight muscles for about ten seconds at a time to loosen them. EXPERT VERDICT: Simple, but effective. Massage relaxes muscle tissue, which can help reduce spasms, contractions and nerve compressions. 3/5

ULTRASOUND TO AID TISSUE REPAIR Ultralieve Ultrasound Device, €199.99

CLAIM: ‘A handheld ultrasound device that emits highfrequency sound vibrations. This helps to relieve pain by aiding tissue repair.’ To use, apply the gel that comes with the product to the head of the device, choose the intensity and length of your treatment, then move the head over the area of pain. ‘Two minutes [of treatment] a day may be all you need to get back to your best.’

EXPERT VERDICT: Within the head are vibrating crystals that emit pulsed high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound). These cause tiny vibrations in the soft tissues, which speed up healing. But there really isn’t much scientific evidence that ultrasound is much more than a placebo. The deep heat caused by the vibration may make tight muscles and tendons more supple, which could help a frozen shoulder. I doubt it is powerful enough to have much effect. 2/5

ROLL-ON GEL TO LIMIT PAIN SIGNALS Biofreeze Pain Relieving Gel Roll-On, €14.99/89ml

CLAIM: A roll-on gel that ‘delivers the pain-relieving benefits of cold therapy’ — for use on smaller muscles and joints. The gel ‘will reduce blood flow and lessen inflammation’.

Recommended for arthritis pain, backache, strains and sprains.

EXPERT VERDICT: Cooling the skin should reduce pain and mild inflammation. This gel works through ‘counter irritation’.

Our nervous system can only process a limited amount of sensation at once, so the chilly sensation created on the skin by the alcohol and menthol should help dampen minor pain signals going to the brain. The cooling effect lasts around two hours. 2/5

STRAP THAT HELPS KNEES RECOVER Sciaticalm, €39.99

CLAIM: Device that straps to the back of or above the knee. ‘Generates high-frequency vibrations to pass through the skin and reduce the pain of sciatica’. The vibrations disrupt pain signals, and stop them being recognised by the brain, and may help stimulate blood supply to damaged areas, speeding up recovery, says the manufacturer. Use for ten minutes, three times a day, for three to four weeks. EXPERT VERDICT: Vibratory pain relief is medically recognised, though it’s not clear how it works. One theory is it interferes with how the brain codes pain sensations. 3/5