Article, Science, Wellbeing
Published by
Adrian on 22nd June 2020
Our active patches may seem deceptively simple to the casual observer. If you’re suffering from nerve, muscle or joint pain, you can apply the adhesive patch to the affected body part and within 30 minutes you may start to feel some relief. Over the course of a few weeks or a few months, they may help your body to recover from the problem altogether.
But how do To Better Days active patches work?
2 Key Ingredients to Improve Nerve Strength
Our patches contain two – and only two – ingredients:
- Vitamin D
- Dextrose – chemically identical to glucose
This patented combination of Vitamin D and dextrose has been used by Dr John Lyftogt at his clinic in Christchurch to help those who suffer from long-term chronic pain. In an attempt to make this treatment more widely available, John and his wife Maria developed To Better Days patches.
To understand how the patches work, we need to understand why these two elements are essential to maintaining a healthy body first.
What is Glucose Used For in the Body?
Glucose is essentially the natural form of energy that your body runs on. It’s a type of sugar that you absorb through food, and it is needed by most of the cells in the body to function. It is especially important for the smooth running of the central nervous system. Without glucose, the brain, chemical receptors and nerve cells cannot process information and, as a result, can’t function properly.
Dextrose is chemically identical to glucose and is used commercially in a multitude of foods and medicines.
How Can Glucose Relieve Pain?
Research shows that low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) is the principal cause of chronic pain (nociceptor ischemia). This means that if glucose can be delivered directly to the specific nerve cells associated with pain and only pain, known as ‘nociceptors’, it will enable the cells to function properly and reduce pain. As nociceptors are located within one-tenth of a millimetre of the skin’s surface, you might think this wouldn’t be hard to achieve.
A number of medical studies have been carried out that confirm this hypothesis on different injuries:
- Repetitive strain injury
- Knee pain
- Carpal tunnel
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Pelvis pain
- Lower back pain
- Headache/migraine
Unfortunately, there is a catch: dextrose, glucose or any other sugar needs to reach the stricken nociceptors in sufficient concentration, and that doesn’t happen when applied through ointments or patches because the sugars disperse too rapidly. It requires an injection, which requires a trip to the doctor. To avoid this, another source of ‘cell food’ is required: enter Vitamin D.
How Can Vitamin D Relieve Pain?
The link between Vitamin D and pain is well-established. Medical students have long been taught about the vitamin by the mnemonic ‘bones, moans and groans’: it aids bone growth, it improves mood (moans) and has long been noted as having a beneficial impact on chronic pain (groans).
There’s no shortage of research to support this:
How Do To Better Days Patches Work?
Our patches contain Vitamin D and glucose alongside cosmetic-grade adhesive and transdermal enhancers. Their design ensures that the patches adhere for at least 24 hours, and for all that time they are releasing Vitamin D and glucose into the epidermis. Their proximity and concentration ensure that they go predominantly to the nociceptors to alleviate pain directly. You may start to feel relief within half an hour of applying the patch, although we recommend keeping the patch on for at least the full 24 hours to allow time for all the ingredients to release into the skin.
Any excess is dispersed and processed throughout the body, with the Vitamin D going towards remedying any Vitamin D deficiency. The patches only address the pain cells and not the damaged or wounded tissue. However, a pain-free body is in better shape to restore itself and respond to other treatments.
Which Patch is Right for My Condition?
The patches are available in two sizes. Our big joint active patches are ideal for application on your back, shoulders or knees, whereas small joint active patches are perfect for fingers, wrists and ankles.
We would recommend trying the patch initially for a week of daily application. If no benefit is felt by then, it’s clearly not addressing the problem and we recommend that you consult your doctor.
Real-Life Stories
Start Your Journey To Better Days
If you suffer from chronic pain and you’re looking for a way to get back on your feet, our patches may be able to help. They are simple to use, discreet, mess-free and fast-acting. Why not give them a try?
