captain_spalding said:
ruby said:
captain_spalding said:Honestly, i had wondered that myself.
You could do us, and popular medical science, a great service if you’re willing to conduct the experiment.
Of course, you’d have to try whatever concoction you come up with in a variety of strengths, so as to establish lower and upper parameters of effectiveness.
As my contribution, i suggest that you start with a minimal amount of chili in the mix, and work up from there, rather than starting from the 100% end. I believe that this is more likely to produce more data points before the experiment reaches its termination.
I have made my own chilli cream but it’s hit and miss as to how much capsaicin it contains.
When I chop up chillis for cooking with no gloves on, I rub my chilli juice laden hands on my dodgy shoulder and neck for the nice burn. My chillies are middle of the road hot, no blisters from them.
When I asked my physio friend about using chilli cream or juice for achey joints several years ago, he said the effect of capsaicin doesn’t fix the problem, it provides a distraction. But now he adds that it also blocks pain receptors as well. So no cure, but relief from pain without pills is worthwhile. And he also adds that increased blood flow from applying plus the burn effect is a Good Thing.Time to make a new batch of chilli cream I think.
Back now.
Personally , i think that a lot of physios are just snake-oil sales people. Money for old rope. But, that’s by the by.
The doc recommended the capsaicin cream for just the reasons you state. Thatit’s not another pill, and that it’s not an anti-inflammatory (there’s Nurofen gel for that), but that it acts on the nerves, sort of distracting them/confusing them from the arthritis pains. Maybe a bit like noise-cancelling headphones, i don’t know, i was nearly judged to be too dumb for the Navy, let alone medical school.
Only nearly? Sounds a bit run of the mill.