Joint & Muscle Therapy Cream

I have suffered from RSIs for the past 5 years, and have been using Penetrex regularly for the past 2 years as part of my attempts to treat them. As anyone with RSIs know, these injuries are complex and poorly understood - it marks the beginning of an ongoing journey. In addition to my review of Penetrex, I will share some of my journey - maybe it will help someone else. I'll get right to the point: Does Penetrex have a positive effect, and is that effect worth the money? In my opinion, yes! However, it is no magic bullet. Penetrex is just one of many factors which can affect an injury, and while I have found it decently potent, it will not single-handidly right all wrongs in the RSI universe. If the only change you make in life is to start using Penetrex, it is unfair to poorly rate it if trouble still remains. I think perhaps the abundance of rave reviews could set some people up for disappointment; the rave reviews are completely deserved in my opinion, just remember the context of the person writing it. There are too many unpredictable factors to ensure that Penetrex will be a good fit for absolutely every person. But I would say that your odds are good, and for just $20, it is among the cheapest experiments in treatment you'll ever make. To those who complain about a lack of pain relief from Penetrex - I actually think the focus on pain relief is somewhat misplaced. I have always thought of Penetrex as a healing aid, and in that aspect I am very satisfied with its effectiveness. I have noticed some immediate relief upon application, but for me the difference has been in long-term recovery. You really do need to faithfully use it as directed to reap the maximum benefits. I don't need so much pain relief these days, as significantly less pain is being generated to begin with - something I am very grateful for. I don't know how exactly it works, but I'm aware that it does. For people with allergies and sensitive skin, I have read of some folks reacting negatively to this cream. Unfortunately, nothing works for everyone. For myself, I have generally troublesome allergies and struggle with psoriasis and eczema. I developed contact dermatitis from using wrist braces, and can't wear them anymore. But for all the grief my skin gives me, Penetrex has only had positive effects on me. When in doubt, do a patch test. I give this product 5 stars because, especially when you consider the cost of other treatments (and I'm not just talking about money), Penetrex delivers great bang for the buck. My experience with it leads me to believe that it is an inherently effective product backed by a reputable company. As I only seem to age in one direction - older - I anticipate being a customer of theirs for quite some time. Still struggling with RSIs though? Penetrex is a wonderful start, but most of us probably need more on top of this. Here's a distilled list of what I have found most effective over my years of struggle. It is these things which mean I am now healing over time instead of getting worse and worse. Maybe some of these suggestions will help you. I hope so! This is not medical advice, so please talk to your doctor before doing anything crazy. Best wishes. Alcohol - I could not believe the profound impact that even infrequent drinking had on my RSIs. It took me a long time to realize the correlation even existed. I've since quit drinking completely, and have improved significantly off this change alone. The takeaway - the occasional treat may still be punishing you chronically when it comes to what you eat/drink. Be mindful of what you put in your body! Trigger point therapy - overuse of muscles can cause them to permanently tense up, shortening the muscles and leading to irritation of the ligaments. Pressure is how you get the muscle fibers to release. I've gotten profound relief from this. There are some excellent products on amazon for self-massaging pressure points. It's been a real game changer for me. Exercising underused muscles - Releasing the tense overused muscles is just one side of the coin for me. I also need to exercise opposing muscle groups. For me, the best tool has been the flextend glove, which is available through their website. I was hesitant to buy it because it's expensive and their website is very ad jargony, but it gets to a point and you're willing to risk a big chunk of change just on the chance it helps. Well if part of your issue truly is muscle balance, the flextend helps a LOT. But like any exercise, you can hurt yourself using it. You don't need to go wild with the thing to get results! Workouts will sometimes cause me some irritation in the short term (cue Penetrex), but over the long term it has been very good for me. Frequent breaks from irritating activities: You really, really need to step away from your work frequently throughout the day. I use the pomodoro technique - I work for 25 minutes, then break for 5 (get up, move around, stretch). Every 2 hours, it's a 20 minute break. I use the handy program Focus Booster, which is free, to keep track of my time. This is also a documented technique for improving productivity, so if you have a cool boss, you might be able to sell them on introducing this at your workplace! Perfect ergonomics: If prices were bothering you before, you are really going to cry when it comes to this. As an example, I just spent over $600 on a new chair. That's the low end of the price spectrum you need to be looking in, if you work sitting down. And then there's the effort aspect - it takes time to habitually develop awareness of posture. But there's just no way around it - the best way to heal RSIs is to minimize the damage being done to begin with. Mechanical keyboard: If you do lots of typing, having a mechanical keyboard in a standard layout is superior to having a non-mechanical keyboard in an "ergonomic" layout. It's very difficult to find an "ergonomic" mechanical keyboard and they are very expensive. I am not sure if it's really worth it to go there. I just went with a standard layout and am very happy with it. The Cherry Red switches are the best for RSI sufferers, and you can additionally install red (2mm) or blue (4mm) rubber O rings on the underside of keys to reduce travel distance. Many suppliers will pre-install these for you, though Amazon sells key cap removal tools and the O rings for cheap, if you want to go DIY. I also recommend using a ten-keyless keyboard design unless you really use that numpad - and even then, you might consider a stand-alone numpad. The reduced travel distance between the keyboard and mouse adds up. Braces: While I used to swear by my wrist braces, I have grown to develop mixed feelings about them in the long run. I personally think they are best used as a short-term aid. They're best for when you're sleeping and during the most aggravating activities of the day, but be sure to give yourself significant "free time" if at all possible. If you're working with braces on, I think it's good to view them as a posture training tool more than anything else. Ideally, you should strive to reach a point where you can maintain good position without relying on the brace to enforce it. I hope some of this information proved useful to my fellow RSI sufferers! Good luck!!

Let's get something straight from the get-go; Penetrex is a pain reliever (even said so on the label) and as a pain reliever, it works surprisingly well. However, many customer placed too much faith in the creme as a "cure-all" for their disorders/diseases/pain (basing on the 3 stars reviews and lower). In my perspective, Penetrex works by keeping your pain at bay so YOU can find and fix the underlying problems. And there lies the problem. There is a major emphasis on the YOU part. Now to paint my scenario. I was diagnosed with Patellofemoral Syndrome by two different clinics. The pain became so unbearable that I was limited to upper body exercises for three whole months. Usually in these cases, icing and rest would be prescribed, and since X-rays and MRI both showed no signs of abnormalities, ice and rest seemed like the only logical solution. I too was under the impression that my knee would recover in time but as the clock ticked, long car rides and extensive sittings became more and more unbearable. After 3 months of doing nothing, I took it upon myself to find a solution and after extensive reading and tinkering and soul searching, it seems my vastus medialis (inner quadriceps muscle) was at fault. This "little fault" caused a myriad of messes: My lateralis tightened up, I always felt a tug in my right hip flexor, and because of the tug, my t-spine (I'm a nerd, I know) would prematurely round when I squat. EMG results confirmed my hypothesis; my VMO would shut down as soon as I ventured beyond parallel during any sort of exercises. Now that I am armed with this discovery, I was ready to make drastic changes. The only drawback was the massive, excruciating pain that accompanied rehab and therapy work, even the lightest workload, such as bodyweight squat and peterson step-up. That's when I discovered Penetrex. The creme allowed me to progressively strengthen my VMO, without having to endure the torment. Here is another scenario: My friend who is currently suffering from a similar knee issue. His VMO rides even higher than mine, almost 4 inches above the kneecap. He is a long distance runner and I am a powerlifter. Two people from two different sports, suffering from the same problem. After convincing him to drop running for a while (athletes can be very hard-headed) and go through an extensive rehab program, his kneecap no longer slides and I bet with a little more time, the pain will disappear altogether. Yes, I do wholeheartedly recommend Penetrex for all acute injuries (and some chronic). I came to realize that there are a certain few customers who view Penetrex as nothing more than a glorified DMSO product, and to a certain extent, I agree with them. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing! Pure DMSO is extremely potent and works well to ease tendinitis and other symptoms. I myself have used DMSO but found that with multiple applications in a day, even with less potent concentration and/or mixes, it tends to eat away the skin fairly fast. Penetrex does not do this and eventually you have to ramp up the dosage (while doing rehab work, of course) to speed up the healing process. Whether it is straight DMSO or Penetrex, like I said, YOU will have to play a huge part in the recovery stage. Do not expect to dabble on the creme and by some miracle, your tendinitis will dissipate. If you play golf and suffer from elbow and back pain, common sense would dictate that you take some time off and REALLY find that kink in your kinetic chain. Common sense also tells us that golfing is a very one-sided sport, so wouldn't it make sense to focus on a bit of weight training to strength the oblique/back muscles and biceps/triceps? If you're a long distance runner and are suffering from knee pain, don't continue grinding your knees to dust! Stop running and find the underlying problem! Take up weightlifting to strengthen the entire posterior chain; more muscle = less force absorption on the knees when the feet hit the ground. And judging from the numerous runners who are diagnosed with some kind of patella problem, the VMO is at fault. This review should not be viewed as me chastising or as a lecture but as me sharing one of my humble life experiences :) We all have to do things that we hate and being a strength athlete who absolutely loved to squat, it was heartbreaking and a blow to my ego when I was reduced to doing peterson step-ups and body weight lunges. If you truly love what you do, be it golfing, running, lifting, or playing competitive sports, then do everything in your power to make sure you can continuing doing what you're doing!

I've been using this now for 2 weeks, and am downgrading my rating from 5 to 4. I think it may be working somewhat, but after 2 weeks, I'm definitely not dramatically better. I do like having something to rub on there that seems vaguely soothing and may be helpful, but I was hoping for more. Also, from the product description online, I thought DMSO was the top ingredient. Looking at DMSO products, many people reported pain relief. And it's well known that DMSO is effective transdermally, and carries other ingredients through the skin. But it's also reported to smell fishy. So I figured Penetrex had solved that problem. Penetrex does smell fine, but DMSO is pretty far down the list of ingredients on the jar itself. The top ingredient is water, and the next one is Arnica. My original review: I've got acute tennis elbow. In searching for how this product could produce the results many are reporting (and a few denying) I came across a helpful passage on this page:[oops, I guess I can't put the link. I'll edit to say I just Googled DMSO, and read the top result.] I'll update later with my results. I'm giving it a 5 star rating in anticipation, but will change it if warranted. "DMSO Penetrates Membranes and Eases Pain The first quality that struck Dr. Jacob about the drug was its ability to pass through membranes, an ability that has been verified by numerous subsequent researchers.1 DMSO's ability to do this varies proportionally with its strength--up to a 90 percent solution. From 70 percent to 90 percent has been found to be the most effective strength across the skin, and, oddly, performance drops with concentrations higher than 90 percent. Lower concentrations are sufficient to cross other membranes. Thus, 15 percent DMSO will easily penetrate the bladder.2 In addition, DMSO can carry other drugs with it across membranes. It is more successful ferrying some drugs, such as morphine sulfate, penicillin, steroids, and cortisone, than others, such as insulin. What it will carry depends on the molecular weight, shape, and electrochemistry of the molecules. This property would enable DMSO to act as a new drug delivery system that would lower the risk of infection occurring whenever skin is penetrated. DMSO perhaps has been used most widely as a topical analgesic, in a 70 percent DMSO, 30 percent water solution. Laboratory studies suggest that DMSO cuts pain by blocking peripheral nerve C fibers.3 Several clinical trials have demonstrated its effectiveness,4,5 although in one trial, no benefit was found.6 Burns, cuts, and sprains have been treated with DMSO. Relief is reported to be almost immediate, lasting up to 6 hours. A number of sports teams and Olympic athletes have used DMSO, although some have since moved on to other treatment modalities. When administration ceases, so do the effects of the drug. Dr. Jacob said at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Health in 1980, "DMSO is one of the few agents in which effectiveness can be demonstrated before the eyes of the observers....If we have patients appear before the Committee with edematous sprained ankles, the application of DMSO would be followed by objective diminution of swelling within an hour. No other therapeutic modality will do this." Chronic pain patients often have to apply the substance for 6 weeks before a change occurs, but many report relief to a degree they had not been able to obtain from any other source."

This is a very good roll on pain reliever. In addition it provides no noticeable odor. It is highly recommended all over the Internet.

I have suffered from Runner's Knee (aka patellofemoral pain syndrome) for over 10 years. I don't have the pain all the time, but when it occurs it's usually only when walking or running. Typically the pain subsides on its own after a few hours of rest. But about a week ago I went on an 8-mile hike that completely messed up my right knee and I was out of commission for 4 days. I had no choice but to rest, ice, take ibuprofen, and compress during that time. I was desperate to alleviate the pain so I could resume normal activity. So I thought I would add Penetrex to my self-care routine. Penetrex is a cutaneous anti-inflammatory medication that is delivered through the skin. What appealed me to this specific brand was that it didn't appear to be pain masking like other brands. While heat and cold definitely dulls the sensation of pain, it can be dangerous in that it can give the illusion the problem is solved. So you may feel ready to resume activity and unknowingly make the injury worse. Penetrex doesn't do that. There is no heat, icy feeling, or numbness that occurs. I have tried both the cream and the roll-on and honestly I don't find much difference between the two in terms of efficacy. Typically, cutaneous (skin) medications are best delivered using a cream base. More often than not when you are prescribed a topical medication from your doctor or dermatologist, it is in a cream or ointment form. They don't evaporate as quickly and are more effective at delivering the medication. This roll-on is not a cream, but a clear serum-like liquid. It's definitely more convenient than the cream as you can just roll it on without getting it on your hands. It also dries much faster. Even after rubbing the cream into my skin for a while, the area remains somewhat tacky for about 15 to 20 minutes. The roll-on formula is dry within 2 to 3 minutes. But roll-ons are less hygenic than using a cream with a clean spatula (every time you roll all those dead skin cells start mixing with the ball and liquid), but the quick evaporation makes me wonder if the ingredients are able to penetrate the skin as well as the cream. I also find that the cream lasts longer as I can use less. But ultimately, does Penetrex really work? Or is it just an effective placebo? I can't really say for sure and that makes it hard for me to establish a fair rating (hence putting it somewhere in the middle). To be fair, I didn't see Runner's Knee as an issue this product claims to treat, so it could just be that it's not meant for that. I did feel like the pain did subside about a half hour after applying it, but the effects were temporary lasting only a few hours. I definitely had to apply it 3-4 times a day per the directions. Even so, it's hard to say if this cream is what actually relieved my pain as there were other variables to consider. I also iced my knee regularly, added compression, and kept off my feet during recovery. In all it took a full week for the pain to completely go away, and given the other methods I used it may have taken the same amount of time even without this cream. In conclusion, I'm not here to say that this cream doesn't work. It may work better for the conditions it actually claims to treat. But it certainly didn't perform any miracles on my knee. I want to be fair about this product though, and if I end up having some other type of pain I will certainly give both the cream and this roll-on another try. If it works, I'll update my review and the star rating.

Bought this for my girlfriend who has back problems. L1-L5. Got the 2oz. size in case she didn't like it. She had been using other homeopathic type relief creams with some success. This one seems to last at least as long but has a slightly better level of pain relief for her. Everyone is different, but I would recommend giving this a shot. It worked so well, we ordered the 8oz. pump so she has one at home and can refill the small one for travel. It's not greasy, absorbs well. We ordered the roll-on variety to see if it is better or just a different.

It's a five-star purchase. Very easy to apply, very easy to rub gently in to soothe aching joints and muscles. When artiritis pain wakes me up, I grab Penetrex and almost before I know it, I am peacefully asleep again. I like that there is no smell, and it doesnt' feel too thick or greasy at all. It's a nice white color and as for value - the price is fair, all things considered. My belief is that if a product really does work, then it is worth the price. Very happy with it and will re-order when it runs out.

This stuff worked amazingly quick for me and provided great relief. I had been having issues with my IT band for several weeks after playing pickleball. Nothing was helping. Had been stretching, using a hard roller, and even had a massage. Nothing seemed to release my tight and painful IT band and the tight muscles in my right leg. Within 30 minutes of rubbing this into my upper right leg, I could feel things loosening. Pain was gone within an hour for the first time in several weeks. Would highly recommend.