Hyland’s Muscle Therapy Gel

Last month, I ran surprisingly well at the Disney Wine & Dine half marathon. One of the reasons I had low expectations for that race was that I had previously injured my left knee trying to out sprint a high school runner at the end of cross country practice. I was experiencing inflammation on the lateral part of that knee and had only maxed out my long runs at 12 miles. Both of those workouts were painful.

Shortly before the race, Hyland’s sent me a package of goodies. Enclosed was a huge bag of samples of their Muscle Therapy Gel containing Arnica. I had never heard of it, but the package read “Natural Pain Relief”, so I slathered the gel all over my left knee before I departed the hotel for the race.

The inflammation in my knee disappeared almost immediately. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it because I’ve used other products before that just seem to mask the pain with another sensation. This gel, however, is different. It’s a little runnier than most gels or creams but it’s not greasy or sticky and it dries quickly. Unlike other topical pain relief products, it has no detectable odor.

I ran the half marathon pain free until the 10 mile mile mark. With all the waiting around we did before the start, that was about 4 1/2 to 5 hours after I applied the gel in the hotel.

The next morning, Raffi woke up with a pain in her neck (not my fault). Since we were planning on hanging out at the Epcot Food & Wine festival all day, she wanted to be comfortable. I suggested she try the muscle therapy gel. She did and she described the same almost instantaneous relief of the pain in her neck and shoulder.

Being a studious scientist, I did a little research when I got home. It turns out that Arnica montana (also known as Wolf’s Bane) is a poisonous plant native to mountainous regions of Europe. It contains derivatives of thymol, which have anti-inflammatory effects. In fact, a study published in 2007 showed that Arnica gels were just as effective as daily ibuprofen use for relieving pain in patients with osteoarthritis and had fewer side effects. Another study showed that people with arthritis of the knee who used Arnica gels twice daily for 3 weeks experienced significant reductions in pain and increased mobility.

I’ve never been a fan of long term usage of ibuprofen because of it’s associated risk of myocardial infarction and stroke in addition to the potential for hypertension – not to mention the gastrointestinal effects. So, having an all natural alternative that actually works well is awesome. To be fair, Arnica gels do cause mild allergic skin reactions in a small percentage of people and they should never, ever be used on damaged on broken skin. All in all, however, Arnica gels are a safe and effective alternative to ibuprofen and I’m happy I’ve still got several Hyland’s Muscle Therapy gels left over. I only I hope I won’t have any reason to use them!

If you’d like to try it for yourself, Hyland’s is giving away samples of the gel. All you have to do is check out Hyland’s Fit Talk on Facebook, “Like” the page and let them know that Coach Brian from the Digital Running Club sent you. They’ll contact you and send you a free sample.

Alternatively, you can follow them on Twitter, then let them know that @RunCoachBrian from @DigitalRunning sent you. They’ll get in touch for your mailing info so they can send out the free sample.

Edit: The giveaway will close on Sunday 11/13/2011 at 11:59 PM ET. You will be contacted on Monday 11/14/2011 for the mailing address where you’d like to receive your free sample.

***Disclaimer: The Hyland’s Muscle Therapy Gel was complimentary, but the opinions expressed and background research are all mine. ***