Voltarol or tiger balm for joint pain relief?

Try Wong to Yick, Wood Lock Medicated Balm. Used it on my frozen shoulder and it was soooo good. Get it from Chinese Medicine shops.

There are quite a few creams and gels and I suppose it's best to try one and if it doesn't help then work your way through them, bee venom, mussels, tiger balm, hemp cream etc. I have ordered the Musselflex (or Musselex?) to start with. From the reviews it seems that what works for one person doesn't for another, which applies to everything really, so all you can do is keep trying new things.

I have had osteoporosis arthritis in both knees for some time. At first GP prescribed anti inflamatories but I had to discontinue because my kidney function was affected. Voltarol is out of the question.
Versus Arthritis charity recommend turmeric so I have started taking capsules of that and black pepper.

I have arthritis in my hands and wrists. My daughter bought me some CBD thermal joint gel with arnica and glucosamine at Christmas. I have been using it for about 4 months and am now able to knit, crochet and drive my car without pain! I have recently tried it on my painful knees and it had been amazing. Having read all the earlier posts I might try the Tumeric too!

16 years ago I was suffering with knee pain. Since taking a regular dose of glucosamine and chondroitin the pain has never returned. I am now 65 and hope this will continue for as long as possible. Hope you find something that works for you. Good luck x

My knee has been very painful over the past few months and just had it xrayed last week. Am pretty sure it is osteoarthritis. I find olbas oil deadens the pain enough for me to get to sleep. My doctor also recommended tiger's balm. I find ibuprofen gel gives little relief and and am reluctant to use it as I already take naproxen. My Mum suffered terribly from osteoarthritis and gout and was on medication for years. Just months before she dies she was told by a consultant that the years of medication had contributed to her kidney problems. If I do have osteoarthritis I will be happy to give acupuncture a try - my late husband had it for a serious back problem and it really helped (even though he was terrified of needles!)

Pammie1

Can I ask if you’ve seen your GP ? I’ve no wish to be an alarmist but I started with pain in my knee joint 12 months ago - nothing worked and after being referred to a specialist I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Am now on medication which has sorted out the pain and is helping prevent the spread. I’m not saying your pain will be this, but all the same, it’s worth having it checked out because if it is some form of arthritis all the painkillers in the world won’t help until you get the right treatment, and rheumatoid arthritis in particular can spread throughout your joints unless you get prompt treatment. In the meantime avoid anything with anti inflammatory medication in it - which Voltarol has. Eventually it gives you stomach problems - my late husband took Diclofenac on prescription for joint pain and ended up in hospital with a stomach bleed. Tiger Balm is good and someone upthread mentioned Bee Venom, which is available from Amazon - also good.

Thanks Pammie.....My mother had rheumatoid arthritis for many many years and she died about 22 years ago at the age of 69, (A year older than I am now )she was in a care home and she could hardly move at all,she even had to have a drink of water squirted in her mouth with a syringe. I was tested a few years ago for rheumatoid arthritis and didn’t have it but maybe I should have another test....

So much to try!! I think I will get in touch with my GP again and get another test for rheumatoid arthritis, I don’t think they can identify it but there are markers apparently.... and thank you all for taking the time to reply ???

I was interested to hear about the Tiger Balm. I have osteoarthritis in my leg joints from falling off other people's motorbikes when I was younger and have been taking Naproxen for years. Reading about the lady who has put on weight with it, I wonder if it is causing the swelling in my legs. It's got quite bad over the last 2 years. The Naproxen helps but not as much as I'd like so I've just added Tiger Balm to my shopping list. I'm hoping it will help my left hip which gets very painful especially since losing weight over the last year.

My mother often uses Tiger Balm (Red) for aching joints and Tiger Balm (white) for sinus congestion. Has done for years.

I have osteoarthritis, sciatica along with various other back problems and I’ve tried a lit of different remedies. I stopped taking Voltarol orally afte about 12 years as I was worried about stomach ulcers but do rub 2.32% gel in if I’m having a particularly bad day which certainly does help me. I wouldn’t use it regularly though because of the Ibuprofen in it. If I get a flair up of my back pain I’ve found the best thing is a course (about 6 visits) of acupuncture. Used a TENs machine for 7 years until I became too sensitive to even the special sensitive pads. The TENS machine was a life saver for me so that was very disappointing. I find Flexiseq marvellous for my arthritic knees and fingers but can’t use it every day as it causes my skin on my knees to really dry out. Shame because it really works. I also joined a gym when I retired (about 6 years ago) and (ore Covid) did Aquarobics five days a week. That doesn’t rid me of pain but it does give me more flexibility and also a good feeling that I’ve exercised. Unfortunately through all this I still need to take regular Morphine. The less active I am the stiffer I am with more pain. After a night in bed, on a Tempur mattress with a Tempur mattress topper on top of that I ‘m obviously at my stiffest. Slowly getting out of bed and gently walking it out (with my morning dose of Morphine) helps. There’s nothing like regular exercise but as I’m on crutches Aquarobics is the only form I can take. As the water gives you that buoyancy I don’t find exercise in the pool painful. I can’t exercise like some of the girls but I keep up as much as I’m able to. My teacher is aware of my problems and that there are some exercises I can’t do. Glucosamine and Condroitin didn’t do a thing for me but I shall certainly try the Tiger balm.

I looked up Tiger Balm and found several versions of it. Which is best white or red?

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