Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA valuable and cost-effective addition to your treatment regimen
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2015
I have suffered from RSIs for the past 5 years, and have been using Penetrex regularly for the past 2 years as part of my attempts to treat them. As anyone with RSIs know, these injuries are complex and poorly understood - it marks the beginning of an ongoing journey. In addition to my review of Penetrex, I will share some of my journey - maybe it will help someone else.
I'll get right to the point: Does Penetrex have a positive effect, and is that effect worth the money? In my opinion, yes! However, it is no magic bullet. Penetrex is just one of many factors which can affect an injury, and while I have found it decently potent, it will not single-handidly right all wrongs in the RSI universe. If the only change you make in life is to start using Penetrex, it is unfair to poorly rate it if trouble still remains. I think perhaps the abundance of rave reviews could set some people up for disappointment; the rave reviews are completely deserved in my opinion, just remember the context of the person writing it. There are too many unpredictable factors to ensure that Penetrex will be a good fit for absolutely every person. But I would say that your odds are good, and for just $20, it is among the cheapest experiments in treatment you'll ever make.
To those who complain about a lack of pain relief from Penetrex - I actually think the focus on pain relief is somewhat misplaced. I have always thought of Penetrex as a healing aid, and in that aspect I am very satisfied with its effectiveness. I have noticed some immediate relief upon application, but for me the difference has been in long-term recovery. You really do need to faithfully use it as directed to reap the maximum benefits. I don't need so much pain relief these days, as significantly less pain is being generated to begin with - something I am very grateful for. I don't know how exactly it works, but I'm aware that it does.
For people with allergies and sensitive skin, I have read of some folks reacting negatively to this cream. Unfortunately, nothing works for everyone. For myself, I have generally troublesome allergies and struggle with psoriasis and eczema. I developed contact dermatitis from using wrist braces, and can't wear them anymore. But for all the grief my skin gives me, Penetrex has only had positive effects on me. When in doubt, do a patch test.
I give this product 5 stars because, especially when you consider the cost of other treatments (and I'm not just talking about money), Penetrex delivers great bang for the buck. My experience with it leads me to believe that it is an inherently effective product backed by a reputable company. As I only seem to age in one direction - older - I anticipate being a customer of theirs for quite some time.
Still struggling with RSIs though? Penetrex is a wonderful start, but most of us probably need more on top of this. Here's a distilled list of what I have found most effective over my years of struggle. It is these things which mean I am now healing over time instead of getting worse and worse. Maybe some of these suggestions will help you. I hope so! This is not medical advice, so please talk to your doctor before doing anything crazy. Best wishes.
Alcohol - I could not believe the profound impact that even infrequent drinking had on my RSIs. It took me a long time to realize the correlation even existed. I've since quit drinking completely, and have improved significantly off this change alone. The takeaway - the occasional treat may still be punishing you chronically when it comes to what you eat/drink. Be mindful of what you put in your body!
Trigger point therapy - overuse of muscles can cause them to permanently tense up, shortening the muscles and leading to irritation of the ligaments. Pressure is how you get the muscle fibers to release. I've gotten profound relief from this. There are some excellent products on amazon for self-massaging pressure points. It's been a real game changer for me.
Exercising underused muscles - Releasing the tense overused muscles is just one side of the coin for me. I also need to exercise opposing muscle groups. For me, the best tool has been the flextend glove, which is available through their website. I was hesitant to buy it because it's expensive and their website is very ad jargony, but it gets to a point and you're willing to risk a big chunk of change just on the chance it helps. Well if part of your issue truly is muscle balance, the flextend helps a LOT. But like any exercise, you can hurt yourself using it. You don't need to go wild with the thing to get results! Workouts will sometimes cause me some irritation in the short term (cue Penetrex), but over the long term it has been very good for me.
Frequent breaks from irritating activities: You really, really need to step away from your work frequently throughout the day. I use the pomodoro technique - I work for 25 minutes, then break for 5 (get up, move around, stretch). Every 2 hours, it's a 20 minute break. I use the handy program Focus Booster, which is free, to keep track of my time. This is also a documented technique for improving productivity, so if you have a cool boss, you might be able to sell them on introducing this at your workplace!
Perfect ergonomics: If prices were bothering you before, you are really going to cry when it comes to this. As an example, I just spent over $600 on a new chair. That's the low end of the price spectrum you need to be looking in, if you work sitting down. And then there's the effort aspect - it takes time to habitually develop awareness of posture. But there's just no way around it - the best way to heal RSIs is to minimize the damage being done to begin with.
Mechanical keyboard: If you do lots of typing, having a mechanical keyboard in a standard layout is superior to having a non-mechanical keyboard in an "ergonomic" layout. It's very difficult to find an "ergonomic" mechanical keyboard and they are very expensive. I am not sure if it's really worth it to go there. I just went with a standard layout and am very happy with it. The Cherry Red switches are the best for RSI sufferers, and you can additionally install red (2mm) or blue (4mm) rubber O rings on the underside of keys to reduce travel distance. Many suppliers will pre-install these for you, though Amazon sells key cap removal tools and the O rings for cheap, if you want to go DIY. I also recommend using a ten-keyless keyboard design unless you really use that numpad - and even then, you might consider a stand-alone numpad. The reduced travel distance between the keyboard and mouse adds up.
Braces: While I used to swear by my wrist braces, I have grown to develop mixed feelings about them in the long run. I personally think they are best used as a short-term aid. They're best for when you're sleeping and during the most aggravating activities of the day, but be sure to give yourself significant "free time" if at all possible. If you're working with braces on, I think it's good to view them as a posture training tool more than anything else. Ideally, you should strive to reach a point where you can maintain good position without relying on the brace to enforce it.
I hope some of this information proved useful to my fellow RSI sufferers! Good luck!!
