Tiger Balm

[Alan Armstrong]

Do you use or recommend tiger balm or an equivalent product?

[DWx]

I use it for stiff joints and muscle injuries. Good stuff.

[Bulltahr]

I like the "red" tiger balm over the white one.

[neoravencroft]

Tiger Balm is really nice if you got some sore muscles after a hard workout.

[JR 137]

Do I go there or don’t I? Oh well...

Tiger Balm and the like (Ben Gay, Flex-All 454, et al) are classified as counter-irritants. How does a counter-irritant work? It irritates the nerve endings in your skin and tricks your brain into thinking there’s a deep heating effect going on. Basically it’s like if you hurt your hand. I stomp pretty hard on your toe, then ask you if your hand hurts anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I like counter-irritants too. But they’re not heating, loosening, etc. anything.

[sensei8]

I use it for stiff joints and muscle injuries. Good stuff.

I wholeheartedly concur!!

[OneKickWonder]

Tiger balm is ace. One of its key ingredients is wintergreen oil, which by weight, is about 1000 times as potent as an anti inflammatory as aspirin. Sounds great but not that much of it penetrates the skin.

I think there are far better products than tiger balm though. But tiger balm is 'traditional', and it's distinctive smell is like the cologne or musk of the martial artist.

[strangepair03]

I was a long time used of tiger balm, now I use battle balm. Little more expensive but I like it better. I use the demon strength one. Green tin.

[Wastelander]

Do I go there or don’t I? Oh well...

Tiger Balm and the like (Ben Gay, Flex-All 454, et al) are classified as counter-irritants. How does a counter-irritant work? It irritates the nerve endings in your skin and tricks your brain into thinking there’s a deep heating effect going on. Basically it’s like if you hurt your hand. I stomp pretty hard on your toe, then ask you if your hand hurts anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I like counter-irritants too. But they’re not heating, loosening, etc. anything.

If it helps, it helps, so I don't really knock it for people who like it, but it doesn't help me at all. It irritates my skin too much, and I essentially get a chemical burn from it.

[MatsuShinshii]

I have used it but it doesn't seem to work for me. If I have inflammation I use white willow bark or thunder god vine. For me it works 100% better than tiger balm.