Eastern Medicine

Three days after the Marine Corp Marathon and I still am trying to re-teach myself how to walk. Since crossing the finish line on Sunday, literally every square inch of my legs has been aching and everyday tasks have become quite the chore. 

As I slowly regain feeling in my legs, I've become increasingly aware of exactly how much my knee is still throbbing. It was easy to ignore the pain when everything else was hurting, but now the pain is rather concentrated. I guess my hobbling around the office has gained me a few sympathy points because one of my co-workers from China brought in these pain patches for me to test out. 

I was a little skeptical (to say the least). I didn't entirely understand what he told me to do with them, and clearly the instructions on the back were no help. 

 

Language barrier aside, I decided that I'd try just about anything at this point. I opened the package and was greeted with a rather potent odor - similar to the smell of Bengay or Icy Hot, but with a lot more menthol and a few entirely new scents mixed in. I placed the patch on my knee and waited for the glorious healing to begin. And then I waited some more. 

The great thing about these patches is that they do.not.come.off... like, at all. I both slept and showered in the patch and it is not even close to budging. I could have sworn my co-worker said he leaves his on for weeks, but I don't intend to push it that far. 

It has definitely given me some relief so far. It is basically like having Icy Hot on at all times - minus the greasiness. Maybe it's just the placebo effect, but I feel like I'm slowly regaining my full range of motion. Don't get me wrong - it still took me 30 minutes to finish what is normally a 10 minute walk to work, and stairs are still completely out of the question - but I do feel slightly more human today.

Apparently there are several different types of patches depending on your ailment. I'm currently sporting the Rheumatic Analgesic Plaster, though I think I'm probably better suited for the Eliminate Inflammation Plaster. Would I recommend these mysterious patches? Probably. They've given me some immediate relief and they're darn easy to apply, so why not? Here is a little more info about the company and how the patches work (though it seems that quite a bit of information may have been jumbled in translation). He found them at the Asian Market in DC, but I honestly have no idea if they're easy to find elsewhere. Has anyone else tested these suckers out? Report back!