What plaster is effective in preventing arthritis?

First of all, it must be clear that there is currently no special effective plaster for routine prevention of arthritis. The external patches we usually use are only suitable for use in scenarios with high-risk triggers such as joint soreness, coldness, and strain. They help reduce the risk of attacks. Applying them blindly when there are no symptoms may cause problems.

A while ago, I helped my aunt organize the family medicine cabinet. She heard from a community health class that applying plaster in advance in autumn can prevent cold legs. She also applied warm plaster to her knees every day in the dog days of summer. As a result, within two weeks, a red rash appeared around her knees, which made her itchy at night. Unable to sleep, I went to the dermatologist and was told that it was contact dermatitis. The doctor said that she didn’t have any degenerative disease in her joints, so applying the plaster randomly damaged the skin barrier. The irritating ingredients such as menthol and chili oil in the plaster directly induced allergies.

Of course, this does not mean that plasters cannot be used for early intervention. Now the industry does have different views on this matter. Some people prefer to use traditional Chinese medicine-type blood-activating patches, such as Xiaotong plaster, Huoxue-analgesic ointment, etc. They think that the effect of warming the meridians can help dispel the cold in the joints, which is suitable for autumn and winter colds. After cooling, some people recommend Western non-steroidal gel patches, such as flurbiprofen gel patch and loxoprofen sodium patch. They think the ingredients are clear and the anti-inflammatory effect is stable. Applying it when the joints are sore after exercise can inhibit local aseptic inflammation and prevent repeated strain from developing into arthritis. Both of these statements are supported by their own clinical cases, but there is no large-scale evidence-based evidence to prove that "regular patching can 100% prevent arthritis."

Uncle Zhang, who lives downstairs in my house, has been suffering from degenerative knee arthritis for almost 4 years. In the past, when the temperature dropped in autumn, he would be in so much pain that he could not go downstairs. In the past two years, he has found a pattern. Whenever the weather forecast says that the temperature will drop in the next two or three days, or he walks more than 8,000 steps that day, he will put on a mild flurbiprofen gel patch when he comes home, which lasts for 6 hours. It is removed as soon as possible and will not stick on for 24 hours. The number of acute arthritis attacks in the past two years has indeed been reduced by 80%. He himself said that this thing is an "emergency buffer". If it is really necessary to prevent it, he usually does not even dare to dance too hard in the square. He holds on to the handrails when going up and down stairs, and has lost 15 kilograms in weight. How dare he rely solely on plasters.

Don’t believe the “special plasters to prevent arthritis” that are so popular on the Internet. Many of them contain excessive amounts of stimulating ingredients and appear to be hot, claiming to “open up the meridians.” In fact, they may damage the soft tissues around the joints. If you really want to prevent arthritis, the core is to control your weight, avoid movements that excessively wear the joints, and keep warm. Plasters are at most an auxiliary means in high-risk scenarios, but don’t put the cart before the horse.