Menthol Gel Eases Carpal Tunnel Pain

A menthol gel, which goes by the name of Biofreeze, reduced hand and wrist pain by 31% according to a study published in Rehabilitation Research and Practice. The study was conducted by researchers from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Copenhagen, Denmark, and reported by Rachel Lutz, writing for FCP, Live.

The researchers studied 645 carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patients who worked in a slaughterhouse. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 67, worked in the slaughterhouse for at least 30 hours per week, had pain in the shoulder, elbow, forearm, hand, or wrist of an intensity of 3 or more on a scale from 1-10, had “some” work disability and did not participate in resistance training or receive ergonomics instruction during the last year.

The researchers also recruited ten CTS patients who had chronic pain in their arms or hands. They were randomly placed into two groups to either receive Biofreeze or a placebo gel treatment. Researchers applied treatments to the wrists and hands during the work day and 48 hours later. The results showed a 31% reduction in chronic pain in workers with CTS.

The researchers believe topical menthol analgesics could serve as an effective alternative to oral analgesics which have the potential for adverse outcomes. “Topical menthol acutely reduces pain intensity during the working day in slaughterhouse workers with CTS and should be considered as an effective non-systemic alternative to regular analgesics in the workplace management of chronic and neuropathic pain, ” the authors concluded.