DIY Pain Relief Strategy: Topical Sulforaphane with Lidocaine Gel

I've blogged about topical sulforaphane before here.  With my back pain flair up last Friday, I got a trigger point injection with lidocaine that really helped.  Having done research at the Pain Management Center at UVA for seven years, I know a lot of what's done doesn't work.  But I'd never known that the trigger point injections are with lidocaine. 

Given this, and knowing that the DMSO carries the chemicals below the skin, I rubbed lidocaine gel on my back after the trigger point injection wore off and rubbed the topical sulforaphane liquid on top.  The result was quick relief!

DMSO does burn and I've used this remedy so frequently over the last few days, that the skin on my back is red.  But it is worth it to me.  Managing pain levels when something starts bothering you is very important to keep the pain in the acute classification and not transition to chronic pain. 

This transition can occur in as little as two weeks and is accompanied by a change in both an anatomical and physiological change in your body.  Anatomically, your muscles shrink from compensation and underuse of muscles.  Physiologically, the natural inflammatory response gets turned on and stays on.  Managing pain and decreasing inflammation is key to a speedy reconvery.