I was given products in this post for the purpose of review. I was not paid to write this review, all opinions are my own.
May is National Arthritis Awareness Month, and in the United States, 23% of all adults—over 54 million people—have arthritis.
“About 24 million adults are limited in their activities from arthritis, and more than 1 in 4 adults with arthritis report severe joint pain,” reports the CDC. As new OTC products enter the marketplace to address pain management, how can we determine which ones will be most effective?
Hisamitsu America, the marketers of Salonpas, are duty bound to educate, update and share the contemporary view of how and where topical analgesics fit within pain management. The company motto is ‘Salonpathy’ – which means to improve the quality of life through patch. As such, Hisamitsu America commissioned a video tutorial by Dr. Bob Arnot, who over the course of his career as a physician, Chief Medical Correspondent and War Correspondent, has been exposed to a wide variety of pain management drugs and approaches.
The FDA just approved a new drug, formerly available by prescription only exclusively for arthritis, to over-the-counter (OTC) status. In addition, government medical agencies including the CDC, and American College of Rheumatologists are embracing topical medicines as the first line treatment in light of their strong safety profile and, for a select few, clinically supported efficacy. In that last regard, there is news on a product that can provide clinically meaningful pain relief in the first day. All of this is captured in the educational video.