PRODUCTS
PLEASE NOTE: I am not a doctor, nor am I qualified to prescribe the use of any medications, equipment, exercises, or anything else. Everything on this website is for informational purposes only, and is provided merely as a starting point for you to investigate further. The majority of things I mention on this website are things that I personally have used and benefitted from – that does not necessarily mean that you will find them beneficial. Depending on your exact circumstances, use of any of these items/information could potentially be harmful to you. If any of this information sounds like something you might want to try, be sure to first check with your doctor or other medical professional to see if it would be appropriate for you.
Please read my DISCLAIMER before proceeding any further.
E Q U I P M E N T
HealthyLine Infrared Heating Pad
I received this as a gift from my wonderful mother-in-law. I would never have purchased it myself due to the price, but now that I have it, I’ll never use another one. It’s filled with crushed gemstones, which means you can’t feel when the heating implement cycles on and off – that alone is worth every penny, for me. The temperature adjusts in 1 degree increments, and the timer sets up to 12 hours. I practically live on this thing when my fibromyalgia is acting up.
TENS Unit
I don’t have any specific recommendation about which TENS unit to use, this just happens to be the one I have. It was recommended to be by a former client of mine who happened to be a doctor, so I figure it’s a decent one. I have no idea how it compares to other units that are available. It’s helped me a lot with muscle soreness, but I’ve found it’s had the opposite effect around pinched nerves. It is portable, but I’ve never worn it while out and about.
CorPak ice packs
These are my favorite ice packs. They’re durable, and they hold their temperature longer than any others I’ve tried.
Acupressure mats
Acupressure mats are great for relieving tension and pain. They’re available in all sorts of price ranges – I’ve never tried the expensive ones, so I can’t comment on whether or not there’s a difference in quality, but the cheap ones have always worked well for me. I don’t have a favorite brand. They can be a little painful while you’re getting situated, but once in position, I find them incredibly relaxing and very helpful in relieving muscle tension. If you find the pokey bits too pokey, try covering it with a thin towel first.
T O P I C A L S
Arnicare cream
Arnica is an herb that helps to relieve pain, soreness, bruising, etc. It’s only been slightly effective for me when used on its own, but I’ve found it much more effective when I apply it and then use a heating pad over it. I think the heat must open up the pores and help to speed absorption. When used with a heating pad, make sure you use it in cream form and NOT in gel form, or you’ll cook your skin like a chicken.
AURA THC cream*
*Please note: Cannabis and its derivatives are legal for recreational use in the state of Ohio. It is your responsibility to know whether or not said products are legal for use in your area.
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, but don’t let that scare you off. When applied topically, THC doesn’t enter the bloodstream, so it can’t get you high and it will not show up on a drug test. This is the most effective topical cream I’ve found thus far for relieving pain and muscle tension. It does have a very strong scent – I happen to love it, but if you’re sensitive to strong scents, it might be too much for you. I get mine at Verilife, but I’m sure other dispensaries carry it, as well.
Australian Dream
I’ve found this pretty effective at relieving muscle tension. It’s even warded off my tension migraines, if I catch them early enough. The active ingredient is a histamine, so if you have bad allergies (which I do), it will most likely aggravate them. That’s the only reason I don’t still use it. (And for the love of everything holy, do NOT touch your eyes before washing your hands, or you’ll be itching for days.) The cream comes in a back pain formula and an arthritis formula; as far as I’ve been able to determine, the only difference is that the active ingredient is twice as strong in the back pain formula, so that’s the one I’ve used. I haven’t personally found it at all effective for my arthritis.
Biotone Dual-Purpose Massage Creme
I include this here only because I am occasionally asked what massage creme we use at work. This is it. If I could use whatever I wanted I would opt for something a little more exciting, but this is a great basic workhorse cream.
Monoi Age Corrective Night Body Cream
People usually think that massage therapists always have smooth hands because we’re working with lotion all the time, but it actually tends to be the opposite due to how often we wash our hands. On top of that, I have eczema, which can make my hands pretty dry and gnarly anyway. I’ve tried many, many different lotions over the years to try and address it. This is, by far, the best lotion I’ve ever used for my dry skin and eczema. Full disclosure: we do sell this brand where I work, which is honestly the only reason I tried it in the first place and yes, we do get a discount on product. But now that I’ve tried it, I would travel quite a distance and pay full price for it if I had to. The only thing I have ever found that works as well is Aquaphor, but I hate how greasy and sticky that feels, and it doesn’t give the soft-as-a-baby’s-bum feeling to my skin afterwards the way this lotion does.
Pain patches
I’ve used several different types of over-the-counter pain patches over the years. My favorite is the Salonpas lidocaine patch. It was a lifesaver for me when I had a pinched nerve in my shoulder. If you shop at Target, I found their store brand to be cheaper than the name brand, and just as effective. (That was several years ago, so that may have since changed.) Unfortunately, because of how frequently I used the patches, I started to get toxicity symptoms and can no longer use them. I tried menthol patches for awhile, and those were okay, but not great. My current favorite patches are the Wu Yang Medicated Plasters and the Dieda Zhengtong Yaogao Medicated Plasters; I find them less effective than lidocaine patches, but more effective than menthol patches. The active ingredients are the same – the Dieda has 0.1% more camphor in it – but some of the herbal ingredients are different. I can’t say that I notice much of a difference between them in how effective they are, but they do smell a little different. They both smell amazing, in my opinion. The Wu Yang, in particular, reminds me of Indian food. They are also incredibly sticky, so I recommend either soaking it with a warm washcloth for a few minutes before removing it, or remove it in the shower. I have definitely irritated my skin before by just ripping them off. (If you are currently one of my clients, we do have the Wu Yang and Dieda patches available for purchase.)
e s s e n t i a l o i l s
Helichrysum
Helichrysum is an herb that’s said to help speed skin recovery and help reduce muscle and joint inflammation. I have never used it myself, primarily because of how expensive it is, but I did have a client who used it regularly after a car accident. She had an extremely dark bruise across her chest from her seatbelt, and she rubbed helichrysum essential oil on it every day (I no longer remember how many times a day). In my 14 years as a massage therapist, I have never seen a bruise heal so quickly. She did mention that it also helped decrease her pain in the area on which she used it.
