The back pain patch is a transdermal agent used for the treatment of dorsalgia of various etiologies and genesis. The dosage form is characterized by the gradual release of active ingredients, which ensures a long-term therapeutic effect. The active ingredients of all patches with analgesic properties enter the systemic blood in low concentration, so the list of contraindications for the transdermal drug is significantly shorter than for drugs intended for oral and parenteral administration. The causes of back pain are often pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system, so medical consultation and examination are necessary.
Classification of transdermal products
Dorsalgia (back pain) develops as a result of functionally reversible blockage of the intervertebral joints. Pathological conditions often precede lumbar spondyloarthrosis or osteochondrosis. Blocking often occurs as a result of increased static or dynamic loads, anti-physiological postures and microtraumas. Neuropathologists and rheumatologists warn about the need for complete treatment of dorsalgia, since tissue damage in one area of the spinal column will cause functional changes in the adjacent areas. Compensatory hypermobility will gradually form, which reduces the quality of human life.
Back pain occurs in 76% of the population. Intense discomfort is diagnosed in 7% of cases. Dorsalgia causes disability in more than 9% of people.
In the treatment of pathologies of the musculoskeletal systemPatches are used to reduce pain, relieve inflammation and swelling. Clinical studies have proven the high efficiency of local transdermal agents that have an analgesic effect. Patches for treating back pain are classified as follows:
| A group of patches | characteristics |
|---|---|
| Heating | Active ingredients of external preparations are hot pepper or mustard seed extracts. The mechanism of action of the patches is to improve blood circulation in damaged tissues and accelerate their regeneration. |
| Heat reflective | The patch contains nanoparticles of rare earth metals that have the ability to increase body temperature in inflamed areas using the body's own resources. |
| Anti-inflammatory | The active ingredients of transdermal preparations are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This group of patches is effective in treating dorsalgia of any localization |
| Phytoplastics | Chinese manufacturers provide products for local use that contain extracts of medicinal plants, essential oils and other natural ingredients. Plastic is used not only for therapy, but also for the prevention of pathologies of the lumbar spine |
In medical practice, pain lasting 1-1. 5 months is considered acute, and pain lasting 12 weeks is considered chronic. Prescribing patches with pain-relieving effect is practical to eliminate discomfort at any stage of the pathology.
Relatively recently, transdermal products with chondroprotectors appeared on the shelves of pharmacies. They contain chondroitin, glucosamine, and sometimes hyaluronic acid with B vitamins that can improve innervation. These biologically active substances are structural units of cartilage, bone and joint tissues of the musculoskeletal system. Such spots are rarely included in the therapeutic schemes of patients with lumbosacral osteochondrosis or sciatica.Pain of any intensity is quickly eliminated due to low efficiency. The main task of chondroprotective patches is to restore tissues affected by inflammation, which may take several months and sometimes years. Many traumatologists and neurologists are skeptical of these types of local drugs, due to the lack of evidence of their therapeutic effectiveness.
Dorsalgia occupies one of the first places in the structure of medical care seekers. According to the results of epidemiological studies conducted in the leading clinics of the countries, pain in the lower back was the main cause of complaints in 24. 9% of 1300 patients.
Warming patches with red pepper extract
Pepper tincture for back pain is the most popular transdermal remedy for the treatment of dorsalgia of any severity. Active ingredients are red hot pepper and belladonna extracts, dimethyl sulfoxide, eucalyptus essential oil. Thanks to lanolin (an animal wax obtained by boiling sheep's wool) and pine rosin, the active ingredients are easily absorbed by the skin and reach the inflamed areas. The following therapeutic actions are characteristic of the pepper stain:
- pain reliever;
- distraction;
- Locally irritating.
Capsule extract has the ability to expand blood vessels localized in the area of pain. The pain-relieving effect is also manifested by decreasing muscle tone and improving tissue trophism. Belladonna (belladonna) extract is characterized by a pronounced antispasmodic effect, which is provided by the plant alkaloid atropine. The manufacturers added dimethyl sulfoxide to the patch to alleviate the inflammatory processes that often accompany dorsalgia. The organic compound activates hydroxyl radicals and accelerates metabolic processes in pathological areas.
For people with sensitive skin, the use of the transdermal product will cause severe burning, itching and swelling of the blood vessels located at the site of application. If any of the listed side effects occur, clean the affected area of the body with a cotton pad soaked in sunflower oil.
Pepper patch is not used for the treatment of patients under 14 years of age, pregnant or lactating women. An absolute contraindication is varicose veins and violation of the integrity of the skin.
To eliminate peripheral neuropathic pain, which is caused by damage to the peripheral nervous system (from the roots to the nerve endings), a heating varnish with a high content of capsaicin is used. This transdermal product is not intended for home use, as certain conditions must be met when using it.
Capsaicin is a highly selective agonist of vanilloid receptors, the transient receptor potential of which belongs to type 1. After topical application of the patch, skin pain receptors expressing TRPV1 are immediately activated. The patient feels a burning sensation and redness appears in the adhesive area caused by the release of vasoactive neuropeptides. The external preparation is characterized by the following pharmacodynamic effects:
- Capsaicin significantly reduces the sensitivity of skin pain receptors to mediators. But when subjected to mechanical and vibratory stimuli, the human capacity for pain remains unchanged;
- Changes in skin pain receptors are reversible under the active influence of capsaicin, which occurs after some time. The response to painful stimuli is restored after 2-4 weeks.
The patch is characterized by slow transepidermal and transdermal absorption. One hour after applying the patch, only 1% of the active substance reaches the damaged tissue.
The area of application of the external drug is determined by the attending physician, and the procedure is carried out by medical staff. To reduce the intensity of discomfort, the patient's skin is first treated with a product with a pronounced anesthetic effect. The patch is applied using gloves and safety glasses. Such precautions are necessary to prevent redness of the epidermis and irritation of mucous membranes.
Heat reflective patches
In the treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia, sciatica, nanopowder tincture for back and lumbar pain has proven itself well. The composition of the transdermal product is represented by a thin mixture obtained from the processing of rare earth materials. Nano powder with the ability to generate infrared radiation is used on a hypoallergenic polymer base.
Duration of exposure on the patch is 12 hours. The next local application can be used only after 6 hours.
The mechanism of pharmacological action of the drug lies in the combined effect of infrared radiation and magnetic field generated by rare earth materials.. The temperature of the inflammatory focus increases, which leads to the improvement of microcirculation. Biologically active and nutrients begin to flow into the damaged tissues, which leads to regenerative processes. This leads to multiple therapeutic effects, among which the following prevail:
- improvement of local lymph and blood circulation;
- prevention of stagnation;
- normalization of venous flow;
- easing the inflammatory process;
- reducing the severity of pain;
- acceleration of metabolic processes;
- Relaxation of spasmodic muscles.
The patch exhibits analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling effects. Under the influence of infrared rays, the striated skeletal muscles relax and the optimal transmission of nerve impulses to the central nervous system is restored. Using the transdermal drug for 5-7 weeks helps to increase the functional activity of the muscular system and normalize the range of motion. If the cause of dorsalgia is a fall or heavy bleeding, then using a patch will relieve not only pain, but also extensive hematomas by improving microcirculation in the damaged tissues.
The Polish manufacturer produces a warming and pain-relieving patch. The drug does not contain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.The active ingredient of the patch is iron powder.Activated carbon acts as a catalyst for biochemical reactions.
The interaction of enterosorbent and iron powder leads to an increase in temperature in the inflammatory center to 45-50 °C. Heat is generated by the body through the oxidation of alkaline earth metals, the basis of iron powder.
Deep heating of spasmodic muscles helps to increase blood supply to damaged tissues and reduce the tone of skeletal muscles. The warming effect lasts for 12 hours, after which the patch should be removed and any moisturizer should be rubbed into the area of application.To prevent skin burns, the treatment procedure can be performed no more than 3 times every 7 days. . The absence of ingredients in the patch that are absorbed into the systemic circulation ensures a small number of side effects. Transdermal agent is not prescribed to patients during pregnancy, lactation and menstruation. The presence of cracks, wounds or scratches on the skin is also an absolute contraindication. When the patch is applied to areas of the body where blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin (for example, in the groin area), the likelihood of burning and irritation increases significantly.
Spots of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
When asked by patients which patch for back pain is better, neurologists and rheumatologists give a clear answer - transdermal agent with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduce the severity of clinical manifestations and eliminate the pathology that provokes them by blocking the enzyme cyclooxygenase. This leads to a decrease in the production of prostaglandins, the main mediators of pain and inflammation. Most often, for the treatment of sciatica and lumbar osteochondrosis, a patch of the active substance from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives is used. The external agent also contains levomenthol, which has the following effects:
- local irritant;
- pain reliever;
- Weak antiseptic.
The amount of phenylacetic acid derivative released from the patch during the day corresponds to the amount absorbed from a similar dose of 1% gel. The transdermal product has many advantages: convenience and low frequency of use, after use there are no greasy marks on clothes and bedding.
About 5-6% of the phenylacetic acid derivative can enter the blood, but this amount is not enough to cause significant systemic side effects. T1/2 of inactive metabolites of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - within 1-3 hours. After glucuronidation in hepatocytes, the phenylacetic acid derivative is evacuated mainly by the urinary system (65-70%), and the rest is excreted in feces. 1% of the active substance leaves the body metabolized.
Relatively recently, a patch from a Korean manufacturer appeared on the shelves of pharmacies, the active ingredient of which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug from the group of propionic acid derivatives. Its analgesic effect is also based on blocking the synthesis of prostaglandins by inhibiting cyclooxygenase.
The undoubted advantage of the propionic acid derivative is the possibility of its use in the treatment of patients with chronic kidney and liver failure. Regardless of the stage of pathology, the metabolism of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in liver cells does not change, which explains the lack of its accumulation.
5-8 hours after applying the patch, its biological concentration in blood serum reaches 0. 08-0. 15 μg/ml. The propionic acid derivative is metabolized by hepatocytes during the glucuronidation reaction, and the conjugates are excreted from the human body mainly in the urine.
The transdermal drug is used as a symptomatic agent for the treatment of neuralgia, lumbago, osteochondrosis and sciatica in patients over 15 years of age. The external agent has an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect and effectively relieves swelling. To increase the effectiveness, the annotation recommends applying the patch 2 times a day to painful areas of the body. The duration of the therapeutic course depends on the severity of the diagnosed disease, but it should not exceed 6 days.
Chinese Pain Relief Spots
Chinese patch for osteochondrosis is a transdermal product that contains extracts of medicinal plants and biologically active substances that have chondroprotective properties. After the transdermal drug is applied to the area of pain and inflammation, the acupuncture points located in the spinal column are activated. The result of this effect is the improvement of blood circulation, the delivery of nutrients and biologically active substances to damaged tissues and the acceleration of metabolic processes.
There is no wide range of joint and spine Chinese plastics on pharmacy shelves, and doctors rarely include them in their patients' therapeutic regimens. Manufacturers do not conduct clinical studies, the results of which will create an evidence base for the therapeutic effectiveness of transdermal preparations.
The following Chinese remedies are used to reduce the severity of pain, relieve inflammation and swelling:
- External remedy containing scorpion powder, bee venom, myrrh, cinnamon, angelica, borneol and about 30 other components;
- A tincture that contains 88 biologically active substances, including plant origin: angelica, comfrey and licorice root, Sichuan multi-flowered pepper and buffalo horn extract, myrrh, turmeric, orange peel, powder that produces infrared radiation and others;
- Transdermal agent, which includes extracts of saffron, musk, ginger, menthol, myrrh, peach and angelica roots, methyl ester of salicylic acid, which is included in the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- A preparation containing aconite, belladonna, cinnamon, parsley, ginger, chilibuha seeds, myrrh and pine resins, clove bark extract and galangal root.
All herbal components of Chinese tinctures have a cumulative effect, so the pain-relieving effect occurs after a few hours and sometimes after days. Before using them, it should be taken into account that the composition contains many biologically active substances that can provoke an acute allergic reaction. Chinese acupressure is not intended for treating children, pregnant or nursing women.