Do Physical Therapists Recommend Biofreeze for Pain Relief?

What is Biofreeze?

This is somewhat of a product review, so I will start by saying I am not a paid to endorse Biofreeze or any market product.

BIOFREEZE. You’ve undoubtedly seen it appear more frequently on department store shelves, medical facilities, and even television ads and NBA uniforms. It is a topical pain reliever that “cools the pain.” But does BioFreeze really help with pain relief?

If you ask 10 physical therapists what they think of BioFreeze, you may get 10 different answers. Some PTs are strictly against using any type of topical analgesics. Other PTs (like myself) say, “If it’s helping stop the pain so you can golf for the next hour, then by all means.”

Here’s my personal experience using BioFreeze

I had ongoing neck pain for about 4 days. I believe I strained my upper trapezius muscle at the gym. Fortunately for myself, I knew what to do about it. However, there’s a phrase that goes like this, “Doctors make the worst patients.” Therefore, I wasn’t really committed to my own rehab exercises and hoped the pain would go away.

On Day 5, I knew I was in for a rough day because I had planned to play golf with a friend. I had these sample Biofreeze packets from work, so I rubbed a small amount onto my neck before playing hoping it can provide some relief. 

It feels like a soothing, cooling effect on my muscles. In addition, I felt like I could rotate my head with less pain. However, the question of “placebo vs. actual physiological effect” is up for debate. 

All I know is this: I was able to get through 18 holes just fine. The neck was achy afterwards, but I was able to finish and ultimately have fun playing to the 18th hole.

Here’s My Take 

Biofreeze is similar to other topical analgesics (Icy Hot, Bengay, Tiger Balm). I believe it does a great job in temporarily relieving pain so that you can participate in activities like golf or yoga. Concordantly, use BioFreeze if you need to be pain-free for a few hours. But understand that pain is complex. There’s multiple layers to it. It’s not as simple as resorting to analgesics like Biofreeze, and doing nothing else. Because the pain can always return. So, how do we keep the pain from returning?

3-Step Approach to Decreasing Pain

Some physical therapists out there overcomplicate things. There is a fairly simple approach to pain:

 The best recommendation would be to have your problem looked at by a professional. But before any of the detective work is done to uncover the source of your problem, you must understand pain itself. Here’s a great video animation on YouTube that explains it well. We love to talk about this. We can open you up to a whole new perspective on pain management, so that pain will never be as scary ever again. Give us a call and find out how!