What plaster is effective in preventing arthritis?

In fact, there are currently no special plasters specifically designed to prevent arthritis. The relatively safe ones that are commonly used by people are regular external patches containing low-dose non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ingredients, or blood-activating ingredients such as Panax notoginseng and safflower. These patches are only suitable for pre-diseases such as joint soreness due to cold and soreness after exercise. For completely healthy joints, there is no need to rely on plasters for daily prevention.

A while ago, I accompanied the 62-year-old Aunt Zhang downstairs to the community orthopedics department to get a plaster patch. She always said that many elderly sisters around her suffered from knee arthritis, and she wanted to wear a patch every day to prevent it in advance. However, the doctor directly persuaded her to come back, saying that she was prone to allergies.

Of course, many people think that warm Chinese medicine blood-activating patches have a good preventive effect. I have experienced this myself. When I ride an electric bike to send my child to school in the winter, and the cold wind penetrates my knees, I put a warm Chinese medicine patch on my knees in advance. The joints will be warm all the way, and they will not freeze stiffly for a long time like before. It can indeed reduce the possibility of cold stimulation inducing inflammatory reactions. For people who often stay in air-conditioned rooms and need to run and jump outdoors, it is very suitable for occasional emergency use.

However, many orthopedic doctors are opposed. They believe that the core of arthritis prevention is to reduce excessive wear and tear on joints, such as controlling weight, less squatting, and climbing steep slopes. Plasters can only be used as a means to assist in relieving discomfort. Frequent application when there are no symptoms may not only worsen the skin's tolerance, but may also cover up early joint pain signals. If degeneration does occur, it will not be discovered immediately.

If you really encounter joint discomfort and fear that it will lead to inflammation, you don’t need to worry about the expensive ones when choosing. Just give priority to those produced by regular pharmaceutical companies. If you have sensitive skin, choose patches containing low-dose diclofenac sodium, which are less irritating and have a low allergy rate. If you like the warmth, choose traditional Chinese medicine patches sold in pharmacies that do not add strong foaming ingredients. Don’t believe in the three-no products from WeChat that claim to be able to “radically cure joint problems” and “one patch will prevent ten years of protection”.

By the way, if your joints continue to hurt, snap when moving, or even swell, it cannot be prevented by applying plaster. Go to the hospital to take a X-ray as soon as possible. Don't hold on to it and delay things.