Muscle Soreness: Top Products for Pain Relief

The difference between muscle soreness and pain can be difficult to determine, especially for those of us resuming exercise after a long period of inactivity. Some muscle soreness following exercise is common. It usually begins during exercise or between 24-72 hours afterwards, and lasts for 2-3 days. Soreness is uncomfortable but manageable, and usually manifests as a dull, tight, or achy feeling while resting, or a burning or tired feeling during exercise, along with some muscle tenderness. If your pain is sharper than that, and lasts for longer than 1 or 2 weeks, it may be the sign of an injury and you should consult a doctor.

If you're experiencing soreness, however, you don't have to sit back and let it pass. Mountainside Medical has plenty of products to help you recover!

1. Cara Moist/Dry Heating Pad

For soreness stemming from over-exertion or localized stiffness and pain, heat is a common remedy. Heat therapy can be found in dry heat or moist heat. Dry heat is more convenient, but moist heat generally penetrates deeper into the skin, increases tissue elasticity, and prevents irritation from dry skin. Both have their advantages, so why not choose a heating pad that allows for both? Cara's Moist/Dry Heating Pad can deliver both forms of therapy and comes with a digital controller to adjust the pad to the exact heat that's right for you. Its controller features an easy-to-read LCD display and push-button selection, as well as an auto-off timer and therapy time duration selection, so you're getting the amount of heat therapy you need.

2. Qfiber Infrared Heat Therapy Body Wrap

A heating pad is great for when you're at home, but sometimes you have to relieve pain while maintaining an active lifestyle. Qfiber's Infrared Heat Therapy Body Wrap can be worn at home, at work, in the car, while traveling, while on vacation, or anywhere your busy life demands. This flexible, adjustable wrap conforms to the shape of your body, keeping it in place without constant adjustment, and its lightweight, breathable materials make it easy to wear anyplace. The infrared heat therapy used by Qfiber's wrap can penetrate 2 inches into the muscles, joints, and tissue, much further than regular heating pads, making it easier to loosen stiff ligaments and tendons as well as soothe tight and sore muscles. Infrared heat promotes a quicker recovery time, so you can be at your best even sooner.
Also Try: Qfiber Infrared Heat Therapy Wrist Wrap

3. Icy Hot Extra Strength Pain Relieving Cream

Topical pain relievers are a common choice to reduce muscle pain, whether you're a first-time gym member or a professional athlete. Icy Hot's ingredients create a cooling sensation followed by a warming sensation that distracts from pain and blocks certain pain signals. The menthol in Icy Hot relieves pain by activating certain opioid receptors and blocking certain proteins that may stimulate muscles, while its methyl salicylate breaks down into anti-inflammatory substances when absorbed into the skin. That familiar sensation that Icy Hot's named after isn't just a gimmick, but an indication of how its active ingredients work to alleviate your soreness.

4. Advil PM Nighttime Sleep and Pain Relief Medicine

Soreness is frustrating when you're trying to make your day as productive as possible, but it can be downright miserable when you're lying awake at night. Discomfort can shortchange you on your eight hours, and proper sleep is just as important to your healthy lifestyle as the exercise that made you sore. Advil PM is non-steroidal and non-habit forming, an anti-inflammatory that relieves your aches and pains long enough to help you get a good night's rest. It also contains diphenhydramine, an antihistamine used to fight insomnia without causing dependence like many sleeping aids. When your aches and pains won't let you get the sleep you need for your body to heal, choose Advil PM.

5. Salonpas Pain Relieving Hot Patches

If you like spicy food, you may be familiar with capsaicin, the chemical compound found in chili peppers that give them their heat. Capsaicin isn't just for flavoring, though -- if you're looking for an all-natural remedy for your pain, you may want to try it in the form of Salonpas Pain Relieving Hot Patches. Capsaicin is thought to reduce pain by depleting stores of Substance P, a molecule that transmits pain signals. Salonpas Hot Patches use a capsaicin-based formula to provide up to 8 hours of pain relief. These large patches are ideal for use on your back or shoulder, and their unique matrix design allows your skin to breathe even during hours of use. For an all-natural way to combat your soreness, try Salonpas Pain Relieving Hot Patches.

Be sure to consult your doctor or other qualified health care professional before taking any medication, supplement, or beginning any health regimen.