Blue Emu: What's All The Hype?

It seems like every time I turn on the television I see at least one ad for Blue Emu Products. That prompted me to ask the question: What's all the hype?

That brings us to the topic of today's post. To give a little background you must first consider the active ingredient in this product line, which is emu oil. According to WebMD, emu oil is an extract that is derived from the fat of a flightless ostrich type bird known as an emu bird. This extract has been used for a multitude of purposes--taken orally, it supposedly can reduce cholesterol levels, promote weight loss; it has been used in cough syrups as well.

Veterinarians use emu oil to reduce swelling of animal joints, and for cracking or peeling of paws, and other dermatological issues such as "hot spots" or flea bites. Massage therapists sometimes use emu oil in their practices. Emu oil can be applied to the nostrils as a treatment for cold or flu.

With respect to chronic pain, emu oil can be applied to the skin to relieve sore muscles, inflammation, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraine relief, and the list goes on an on. But the million dollar question has to be--is this effective?

According to the WebMD side, "more evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of emu oil...". However, there are 92 User Reviews of the product on this site and, to be honest, only a few people expressed low satisfaction with the product. The average reviewer gave the product 4 1/2 to 5 stars for effectiveness, ease of use, and satisfaction. For comparison purposes, I looked at the ratings of Blue Emu Original Analgesic Cream on Amazon.com. Sixty eight percent of those who wrote reviews on Amazon gave the product a five star rating; only six or seven percent of reviewers rated it as one or two stars.

That leads me to believe their must be something to this product. I can't personally sing its praises and I think some scientific studies would help support the claims of effectiveness. But it definitely looks to have some promise for at least some folks who are suffering with chronic pain.

Sources: WebMD; Amazon.com; Wikimedia

Comments

Living with Chronic pain hits the big screen!

Been to the movies lately? Jennifer Aniston is on the big screen in a recent release titled "Cake." Her character, Claire is a victim of chronic pain...she belongs to a support group, where all of the members are coming to terms with the suicide of one of their members. Of course, she also takes pain medication and addiction is another of her problems...and of course there's more! I guess I am writing this post just to bring readers' attention to the fact that Hollywood has become aware of the crisis that is chronic pain. This movie is a testament to that. People that don't have to live with this kind of pain don't fully understand the whole story. Maybe this movie will shed some light on the issues. Here is the official trailer for the movie: Sources: prweb;NorthJersey.com;YouTube

Effectiveness Of Ozone Injections Is No Longer Up In The Air

Most of us know someone who has osteoarthritis, if we don't have it ourselves. Joint replacement surgery is a pretty common remedy when the joint becomes severely damaged and the patient is in a lot of pain. With risk of complications from such a surgery, perhaps an alternative treatment should be tried first. One such remedy is the injection of a synthetic version of collagen(e.g. Synvisc®) into the affected joint. This procedure restores the cushioning to a joint that has degenerated over the years. It can diminish the pain substantially and help put off joint replacement surgery for months to years. The biggest drawback is that these products are expensive. GoodRX , a web site that can be used to estimate the cost of medications, estimates the cost of these products to be over $1,000 each. Here's another example--and I am not sure how widely accepted this protocol has become since study authors introduced it in November 2015. Are you r...

Fibromyalgia Week: Day 2

Tender points...click caption for WebMD animation Tender points are a unique feature of fibromaylgia. There are 18 such points on the human body (9 pairs as shown). Using special technique by hand or a dolorimeter, a fibromyalgia patient will experience pain in at least 11 points, and there will be at least one painful tender point in each quadrant of the body! One study found that up to 96% of fibromyalgia patients suffer from sleep disorders. It is believed that this is responsible for a deprivation of delta sleep, during which human growth hormone is produced. This hormone is essential to tissue repair. Other common problems in fibromyalgia are fatigue, concentration/memory ("fibro fog"), and depression. There is no doubt in my mind that just enabling the patient to sleep well on a regular basis would be of great benefit! It is not uncommon for fibromyalgia patients to have coexisting conditions--some of these are lupus, disease, irritable bowel syndrom...

Everyday pain management ideas

Search This Blog