What plaster is effective in preventing arthritis?

At present, there are no special plasters specifically designed to prevent arthritis. The various external plasters we commonly use, whether they are Western medicines or Chinese patent medicines, can only be used when joints are sore and swollen, stiff due to cold, and dull pain after strain. Only then can we reduce the risk of arthritis attacks. They are completely useless as a daily preventive measure, and may even damage the skin.

In the past two months, I met a 62-year-old Aunt Zhang in the outpatient clinic. She lived in an old community without an elevator. She always felt that her knees were causing problems when she climbed stairs every day. She heard from her sister that blood-activating plasters can prevent arthritis, so she applied two plasters on her knees every day for half a month. However, the arthritis failed to be prevented. She developed contact dermatitis first, and her knees became very red. The rash was so itchy that she couldn't sleep at night, and it took her two trips to the dermatology department to get rid of it.

It’s not that everyone’s trust in plasters is wrong. Indeed, many people think that applying some plasters that warm the yang and activate blood circulation in advance can prevent problems by “buffing” the joints. This idea is particularly widely spread among middle-aged and elderly people, but in clinical practice, most orthopedic surgeons do not accept this logic— - Healthy joints have no inflammatory reaction. The active ingredients of the plaster itself have limited penetration depth. They can reach the subcutaneous tissue at most and cannot reach the joint cavity at all. It is equivalent to a white patch. The adhesive tape and pharmaceutical ingredients can irritate the skin for a long time. People with sensitive points can easily develop redness, swelling and ulceration. The gain outweighs the gain.

When you really need to use plasters, there are specific scenarios. For example, you climbed a mountain with a friend for three hours last week, and your knees felt heavy and sore after coming down, or the weather changed in autumn and winter and a cold wind blew, and your knees felt frozen and stiff. In this case, use some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointment. Medicines, such as flurbiprofen gel patch and diclofenac diethylamine emulsion, are all suitable. Use them for 1 to 2 days to suppress the emerging aseptic inflammation, which can indeed reduce the probability of subsequent arthritis. This "leak-filling" method is reasonable.

There are also many people who like to use Chinese patent ointments such as traditional black plaster and blood-activating and analgesic ointment. They feel that the hot paste is particularly comfortable. Can it be used for prevention? In fact, as long as your skin is not sensitive, there is no problem if you take it off after 12 hours every time you catch a cold or get strained. You don’t need to beat me to death with a stick. Just don’t leave your body every day like Aunt Zhang just mentioned. This is the same as if you don’t have a cold, you don’t need to drink cold medicine every day to prevent it.

When it comes to preventing arthritis, the core is not about applying plasters at all. Control your weight and reduce the weight on your joints, warm up and stretch before exercise, and pay attention to your joints to avoid direct cold wind. These daily habits are much more reliable than any plaster. Plasters are at best a remedy for discomfort, so don’t overdo it.