Icy Hot Patches

Hoping the pain will be helped by applying a topical anesthetic, my hamstring has had copious amount applied to it in the past several weeks. Most topical anesthetic come in a gel form that can be applied by rubbing it on the skin. However, the side effect to these gels is that it leaves your hands covered with the residue which is great for opening up the nasal passage but not so great if you touch your eyes or mouth.

In my never ending search for a better way, I tried the icy hot patches. I peeled of the back and applied it to my hamstring. The result was nothing on my hands and some nice heat being applied to my hamstring.

In fact, I didn't even notice that it was still on. I pulled on my compress shorts and was out running when I reached down to rub my hamstring. That's when I realized that it was still on. The patch didn't roll up under my compression shorts nor did it come off from sweating during my run.

They are little more expensive compared to the gel products but for a race or run where you don't have a place to wash your hands, they could be a great alternative.

Before wrapping this up, I have one more thought to share. For guys, don't try applying them if your legs are hairy. It is hard to see when if I am wearing my compression shorts, but I shaved down my hamstring. The patches work much better when applied directly to the skin. They don't stick very well to hairy legs. In addition, their removal is made vastly easier if they are not pulling out your hair. Trust me, I have tried it both ways and the latter works much better.

 

Sharing one thought at a time

 

Cool Down Runner