Salonpas Pain Relieving Patch, 140 Patches

I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome (EDS) which is a painful genetic connective tissue disorder. I have severe pain in my upper neck (cervical C1-C2) and upper thoracic area. These patches were recommended by patients in an EDS forum, so I decided to try them. I am so glad that I did! Now, they aren't a miracle cure. But they DO help. I normally use Cryo-Derm in the liquid roll on (which is very good and helps make bruises not turn so dark if you put it on early in an injury) for milder pain and Asper-cream lotion (original type) for more moderate pain. I love both of them and still use them (not under the Salonpas of course!) and highly recommend them (especially the Asper-cream). I was skeptical that a patch could be better than a liquid or cream. But it is! I get 4-6 hours out of the patch. I've used them on my neck, shoulders, upper back and even on my forehead for headaches (like the headache pads they sell, but do be careful and don't get it in your eyes or too close to them, right over the eyebrows is fine). I can sometimes avoid oral pain medication (NSAID, Ibuprofen) if I use these. I also find them helpful to use also when the pain is severe and I still have to take an NSAID. One thing I love is that the patches, which are smallish but still a good size-is that the area of pain relief is MUCH larger than the patch itself. I'd say about 2" circle around the edges of the patch also gets relief. You can't do a lot of repositioning with the patches. You can a little, but probably not more than one or two times. Also, they don't stick well to very hairy areas. My husband can get them to stick to his moderately hairy knee and it won't fall off. But I have trouble getting them to stick right under (and into) my hairline on the back of my neck. So I cut my hair into a shoulder length angled bob haircut and then pinned up all my hair and shaved unerneath up to above the C1 vertabrae area. It can not be seen though my hair (which is fine and thin, not that thick) and so there is no "edgy" haircut that I might not choose for myself. You can not tell I did that, nor does it itch even with regrowth or feel weird in any way (I used an electric razor). Literally it is invisible unless I pinned my hair up (which I can't do now). It was a great idea I should have done sooner. Even the other topicals I use absorb better in those areas instead of in my hair. I can use my TENS unit (love Tac-gel to reuse and retack the electrodes) better in the area and am now about to also try kinesio tape. I I did find that I couldn't leave much hair in the area, it had to be pretty clean shaved. Again, I swear it can not be seen unless I put my hair up. I'm pretty sensitive and have had to shave other areas pre-surgery and found it "prickly" and itchy but this doesn't bother me at all. I am going to be a fan of Salonpas for life. They do help and I think are better than topicals. But I still think there is also a place for topicals too. Especially since the topicals go further and are cheaper. I highly reccomend Salonpas patches. They may not take all the pain away but they do help a lot.

I love these and I have been using them for decades, they do a really good job of relieving pain in my back and neck. I highly recommend buying them and the price is good.

These patches are FANTASTIC, and at a great price. They really have helped my husband, my Grandmother (in her 90's), and myself with back and neck pain. I had back surgery a few years ago, and my muscles can get really tight, thanks to my surgeon telling me to rest, and not keep moving! Anyway. Salonpas patches bring relief almost instantly, when I have tightness or pain. I put them on before bed, and my back feels so much better in the morning!! My husband uses them as well for his back pain, and loves them. What's really great, though, is how much they have helped my elderly Grandmother!! I order them for her whenever she is running low. She is able to put them on herself and they really help with her stiffness and back pain. You can certainly use them during the day as well (which I do occasionally), as they don't smell like menthol or ben gay (if you know what I mean). Just so you know, each "piece" comes with a patch on each side. This saves room, and allows for the company to put 140 patches in this small box. They are very easy to peel off, though. LET THE PAIN RELIEF BEGIN!!!!

I've been using Salonpas patches for years. I use them after workouts and by the time I take them off, I have no pain. They are great for someone with sensitive skin because they don't stick very strongly but the problem is that they catch easily on my shirt sleeves or if I move around too much. I've found them bunched up inside my sleeves. WELL! I don't know if they changed the formula on all size boxes but I bought the 140 patch size this time. They use the more traditional rubbery type patch that uses a lot more adhesive plus it's more flexible so it stays put. So happy. Now I can do my pilates later in the day and not worry about moving my arms :-) Yay Himatsu! After submitting this review, I thought I'd better add a caveat. I only use this patches on the days that I workout my arms with weights. I'm really trying to get stronger so I push myself. I put the patches on right after my workout and any twinges I might have go away really quickly. But this is my caveat. . . I only use this patches once a day, every other day. If you have a chronic pain, like arthritis, and put patches on and off 2 or 3 times a day, the extra adhesive might start irritating your skin. If the other patches that are less sticky are still available, you might want to "stick" with those. Just saying :-)

- This is a decent non-messy alternative to topical creams. These patches do work for targetting specific areas, and they have a soft surface so they feel nice after applying them. I just personally don't care for the menthol smell. I think that the menthol is supposed to help soothe the nerve endings, but it's much stronger than I had expected. At the same time, I seem to be a bit more sensitive to the smell of menthol than are most people, so if you are looking for localized targetted relief, these are inexpensive and effective. - For wrist and finger arthritis pain, I slice these in half lengthwise, and wrap. That makes them "less sticky" simply because it does reduce the adhesive surface area of each slice, but I personally find it helps more if I wrap the top and sides of the wrist. - Speaking of stickiness, the adhesive on these patches is fairly mild - they'll tug on hairs when removed, but all in all, the adhesive is relatively gentle and non-irritating. On the other hand, it also doesn't stand up to persperation or friction. It's a trade-off, really, because an adhesive that is gentle will, by its nature, also be less "durable". For me personally, it's only an issue in my lower back area, and at that, only if I'm hot. I don't think anyone would apply these to any other sweat-prone areas, like the underarms! Most such areas are far too sensitive! - Anyway, all in all, these patches work better than I had expected, but I don't "love" them because of the menthol...

They're great, they help me a lot with my lower back pain

I had purchased a small box of these from Walmart awhile back. They were kind of hidden on the bottom shelf near the other medicated patches.. They were much cheaper than the other brands and I kind had my doubts they were very good.. But I was very surprised when I used one on my hand (for arthritis relief).. they don't stink like the other brands, they don't really heat up the skin like the others, but they work.. They just quietly work.. My pain is on the side of my hand, below my thumb.. These are small in size (about 2 1/2" x 1 1/2") so they fit on this area really well. I used to cut the other brands into small patches to use in the same location, but they would start curling up on the ends and didn't stick for very long. I don't have that problem with these.. I wear a hand brace to bed and I occasionally wear one of these under it. I can really tell the difference if I don't use one of these.. My husband has wrist pain and when he noticed my using these, he asked what they were.. I gave him one to try and he's been hooked on them ever since.. I bought this box of 140 patches so we both have a nice supply of them.. The box says these medicated patches reach back to the 18th century... They're made in Japan and are used around the world, coming to the United States in 1987...

Excellent topical patches. Review based on experiences of three people over the last two years (i.2. 2012-2014). One patch gives us more relief than one prescription pain patch (and we had different prescription patches). This product greatly reduces the need and usage for prescription pain medication. It has staved off migraines, eliminated tension headaches, and relieved an area of broken vertebrae bones without pain medication. We are amazed this patch does not require a prescription. The toplical ingredients are balanced ideally for us despite disparate sizes and weights (one person over 6' tall, two persons under 5'4".) This product is the smallest-sized patches made. This size is convenient for various joints (e.g. hands, wrists, knees, ankles), forearms, and at the base of the skull. A larger patch is available, which is approximately four times the size of these patches. Safe with our prescription medications. None of us have had any reactions, negative interactions,or side effects. Although we usually do not take prescription painkiller medicine whlie using/wearing a patch of any size, there have been times a disabled veteran (who endures tremendous pain daily) has worn two to four patches at the same time he took his prescription medications (including 2 painkillers). Two of us find the relief so great that we fall asleep, then awaken without pain. The adhesive is stronger than most topical patches. However, if you sweat, these patches wrinkle up or slide around. Bulk purchasing here is very convenient for the three (3) of us. We also buy the large patches, available at Amazon in bulk.