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Summertime often brings a variety of aches, strains, bug bites and of course, sunburn—mini maladies that often kick inflammation into higher gear. Here’s how to help.
The pool. The lake. The beach. The park. The campsite. Sun and burns, bugs and bites, running and tripping, swimming, volleyball spiking and hiking causing muscle strains. Yup, it’s summertime!
Be prepared, because you will likely see an uptick in customers seeking relief for inflammation-induced “ouch!” reactions from the wide variety of activities enjoyed in summer.
Vanessa Pavey, ND, education scientist at Florida-based Life Extension, observed that as the weather heats up moving into summer, people anticipate enjoying more time outdoors. “Spending the day at the beach, hiking or gardening may lead to over exertion, strains and sprains, or repetitive injuries,” she commented.
“A lot of the time, the pain people deal with most is acute pain from a surge of activity when the weather warms up and everyone wants to get outside,” agreed Cheryl Myers, chief of scientific affairs and education at Wisconsin-based EuroPharma, Inc. “So whether the injuries, sprains, pulled muscles, or other twinges and tweaks are due to playing in an amateur softball league, getting back into the garden, hiking in the woods, or riding a bicycle regularly again, acute pain is a big culprit.”
Many people still buy pain-relief products at the pharmacy. Kate Hill, category product manager, Pennsylvania-based Boiron, noted that the OTC (over-the-counter) pain management category is a mammoth one; it topped $5.3 billion last year.
“Traditional internal analgesics are familiar to consumers and include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen for oral ingestion,” she related. “Topical pain relievers and patches typically feature active ingredients like camphor, menthol or capsaicin to provide a counterirritant effect that masks pain by creating a temporary cooling or tingling sensation.”
With that in mind, however, many people are aware of the shortcomings of both OTC and prescription approaches to pain management and are seeking alternatives, according to Myers. But, she emphasized, people tend to want that pain, discomfort and inflammation to be relieved immediately, or as soon as possible.
She provided a well-known supplement combination as an example of confusion about pain resolution. “I believe this is where joint supplements, like glucosamine and chondroitin, may have been confusing for people in the past. They were often touted as ultimately relieving pain, but what they were really doing [was] helping preserve joints—which, of course, has the effect of relieving pain, but not quickly.”
Therefore, she added, while consumers want to find a botanical or nutrient solution to pain, they want it work comparably to what they could purchase at their pharmacy. The best natural products offer a both/and approach to pain relief and comfort management.
The role of inflammation in scrapes, bumps, muscle pulls, etc., is still not quite understood by consumers, according to retailer Tim O’Brien, founder of Wisconsin-based Your Healthy Place. “My customers often believe if there is no swelling then there is no inflammation. They also think that if there is no pain there is no inflammation in the body,” he reported. “Both are common misconceptions around inflammation.”
O’Brien and his staff emphasize educating their customers about the role of inflammation in discomfort, and also how it is widespread; for example, inflammation plays a role in almost all diseases as well as being a big part of nearly all forms of pain. Further, he tells customers that gut issues likely have inflammation as the instigating factor. “Inflammation is perhaps the most important topic to educate on and around since more than 80 percent of our health conditions will be reduced if one cleans the system of inflammation each day with supplements that work, which is what we tell our customers,” he stated.
Pavey agreed, noting that in addressing pain and discomfort, balancing the inflammatory response is a main target, so it is important for retailers to sell products containing ingredients with clinical support that provide noticeable benefits within hours.
In tandem and in addition, the growing interest and research in the endocannabinoid system is helping to inform brands to formulate products that do indeed help provide relief sooner rather than later, she added.
A prime example is palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a fatty acid in the endocannabinoid family that is naturally made in the body and does not cause psychotropic effects. PEA helps manage pain-signal pathways. Multiple studies have established that PEA works at the site of the original injury, supporting a more normalized response to tissue damage and lowering peripheral inflammation.
There’s another set of people who are dealing with discomfort due to nerve function impairment. According to Gad M. Gilad, PhD, CEO of Texas-based Gilad&Gilad, LLC, “Discomforts associated with challenges to healthy nerve functions constitute a major segment of the population living with chronic discomfort. Whether severe and disabling or intermittently bothersome, chronic nerve discomfort affects over 30 million Americans.”
According to GlobeNewswire, he cited, the global market value associated with chronic nerve discomfort was estimated at $6.3 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $9.8 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.6 percent between 2020 and 2027. This increase is expected to further accelerate with the anticipated growth of the aged population in the coming years.
“Most people suffer from muscle aches and pains from activities such as gardening, running and biking,” said Heather Binnie, CEO, Epsom-It, Inc. (Portsfield, NH) “Bathing in Epsom salt for over 400 years has been a method to recover from muscle soreness. Epsom-It Muscle Recovery Lotion is a concentrated Magnesium sulfate formula that is 30 [times] stronger than an Epsom salt soak and can be applied directly where there is discomfort.”
She added that running and cycling clubs are very active in the summer, and muscles aches are frequently experienced in these communities.
The Natural Offerings
Your customers can choose to combine supplements for both chronic discomfort and more immediate relief without any side effects or worries about liver damage.
One of the most widely known and well-used herbs in both supplements and topical products for providing comfort and relief is Arnica montana. This herb has been used for centuries as a natural pain reliever and shown through research to provide therapeutic effects on pain and act as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, pointed out Christophe Merville, D.Pharm, Boiron’s director of education & pharmacy development.
In 2014, he related, Boiron initiated a randomized clinical evaluation of Arnicare Gel on sports-related muscular soreness and pain. Results showed that the overall level of stiffness during the 72 hours following the sports game was significantly less in the group using Arnicare Gel versus placebo.
The Arnicare topical line offers a form for every preference, and all are free of fragrances, dyes and parabens. Consumers can choose from quickly absorbed gel, moisturizing massage cream and ointment. “These non-sticky formulas don’t just mask pain. Instead, they are powered by arnica to relieve muscle pain, stiffness and swelling from injuries without having a strong medicinal smell. Additionally and uniquely, Arnicare provides the extra benefit of reducing discoloration from bruises,” Merville described.
Boiron’s Arnicare brand includes meltaway tablets and pellets designed to dissolve in the mouth without water. “This sublingual option is not only convenient but provides one of the fastest routes of administration for medicine,” Merville asserted. As a homeopathic medicine, Arnicare tablets and pellets are free from the stomach discomfort often associated with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and can be taken on an empty stomach. Furthermore, they have no known drug interactions, meaning consumers can safely combine these meltaway forms with an Arnicare topical without concern.
EuroPharma’s topical relief product, Traumaplant Comfrey Cream, is formulated with a specialized comfrey developed especially for the product that contains no pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), and uses the flowers, stems and leaves of the plant, according to Myers. The comfrey contains three compounds that provide major benefits: allantoin, choline and rosmarinic acid. The product has been clinically studied in adults and children.
To achieve fast and effective relief, extracts of turmeric, Boswellia serrata and black sesame seed have been clinically studied together to quickly address discomfort in the muscles, joints and ligaments by helping to support a healthy inflammatory response, according to Pavey. These herbs are effective by themselves, but when combined provide stronger efficacy as shown in a study.
In the 2020 human study, she described, researchers recruited 88 healthy men and women who experienced acute musculoskeletal discomfort within the previous 24 hours. The participants were given 1,000 mg of the herbal combination or 1,000 mg of acetaminophen for seven days. Both groups started feeling relief within about 2.5 hours, showing the herbal combination is a quick and effective way to address musculoskeletal discomforts. Life Extension’s product, Fast Acting Relief, contains turmeric, boswellia and black sesame extracts to inhibit inflammation, Pavey explained.
Another option comes from Europharma; CuraMed Acute Pain Relief is great for sudden onset pain, according to Myers. It includes BCM-95 curcumin, and standardized BOS-10 boswellia, which are suspended in black sesame seed oil that acts as an emulsifier. Black sesame seed oil has been traditionally used in ayurvedic medicine to aid in carrying and dispersing fat-soluble ingredients and it also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties.
“CuraMed Acute Pain Relief has been shown to be as effective as the popular over the counter option, acetaminophen,” Myers commented. “In a clinical study, the ingredient combination “matched extra-strength acetaminophen in reducing pain intensity and pain magnitude, holding steady all the way through seven-day study,” she described. “Additionally, the botanical combination was 8.5 times better than acetaminophen at reducing the emotional distress and unpleasantness associated with pain, including the feelings of fatigue, fearfulness and the sense of being ‘punished’ by pain.”
Retailer O’Brien likes to recommend CuraHealth turmeric by Lively Vitamin Co. for inflammation-related pain and discomfort. “It has excellent health claims, such as eases aches and discomfort that stem from unhealthy inflammation, and assists in relieving aches and stiffness caused by physical overuse,” he emphasized.
Solutions for Ongoing Discomfort
According to PubMed data from 2022, the prevalence of chronic pain in Americans is increasing. Every year, one out of five people suffers from chronic pain. So, it is a safe assumption that your store is visited by quite a few individuals who can use help in this area. For more chronic discomforts, clinical studies using PEA have found noticeable relief after 14-30 days of use, and sometimes in as little as one week, reported Pavey. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 636 participants with sciatic discomfort who took 600 mg of PEA, there were significantly improved scores on assessments of discomfort at three weeks in the PEA group compared to placebo.
Pavey also highly recommended for retailers to not forget suggesting omega-3 EFAs, as EPA and DHA are shown in multiple studies to help address chronic inflammation, especially in individuals with joint discomfort.
Chronic discomfort among athletic and older active individuals tends to occur in the large joints, such as knees and hips. Europharma’s original pain-relieving formulas Curamin and Curamin Extra Strength feature the same clinically studied curcumin and boswellia as its CuraMed Acute Pain Relief plus DLPA and nattokinase, said Myers.
“Both the BCM-95 curcumin alone and combined with BOS-10 boswellia have been clinically shown to reduce pain and support mobility in cases of arthritis, comparing favorably to prescription and OTC medications. They help relieve chronic pain, increase walking distance and physical comfort—even those would have categorized themselves as having ‘severe arthritis’ before participating in those studies,” she explained.
A type of chronic pain that can be severely debilitating is a migraine, which is more than simply a headache. And there are natural products that can help those with migraines to experience some relief. According to the article published in the JAMA Network in January 2022, 17.1 percent of women and 5.6 percent of men in the U.S. reported having migraine symptoms. And according to a report from Mordor Intelligence about the pain management market, the high prevalence of migraine is expected to boost the migraine therapeutics market. Migraines tend to be triggered by bright light such as summer sunlight, among other things.
“There is evidence to suggest that the physiological processes associated with migraines, such as alterations in the immune system which trigger inflammation, and alterations in the pathway which controls the body’s stress response, may be influenced by our gut bacteria via a variety of mechanisms,” explained Liz Cooper, technical advisor, Bio-Kult.
Bio-Kult carried out a study looking at probiotics in the management of migraine headache. According to Cooper, the study is the largest double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) of probiotic supplements conducted to date in this area. It included 100 participants with migraines (50 with episodic migraine (<15 headache days) a month and 50 with chronic migraine (>15 headache days a month). The two groups were randomized to receive either the 14 strains in Bio-Kult Migréa (4 billion CFU/day) or placebo for 8-10 weeks.
Cooper reported that the results showed that Bio-Kult Migréa supplementation significantly reduced migraine frequency compared to placebo. Frequency was reduced by 40 percent in the episodic group and 45 percent in the chronic group, and migraine intensity reduced by 29 percent in the episodic group and 31 percent in the chronic migraine group.
Gilad&Gilad develops and markets the Agmaceuticals line of patented products containing G-agmatine. According to Gilad, the line was developed based on the 1994 discovery of the neuroprotective properties of agmatine (a metabolite of the amino acid arginine), which was substantiated by worldwide scientific research.
He explained that “G-agmatine (Gilad&Gilad’s brand of agmatine), the active ingredient of our products, exerts its beneficial effects like a ‘molecular shotgun’ by targeting a broad spectrum of molecular mechanisms essential for healthy nervous system functions. Human clinical trials have shown the benefits of G-agmatine in accelerating recovery and improving health-related quality-of-life when coping with various challenges to nerve health.”
Additionally, Binnie noted, many people suffer from damaged nerves in their feet, ankles and calves, “and Epsom-It Soothing Nerve lotion can be applied directly to those damaged nerves for soothing relief.”
Epsom-It contains the natural analgesic ingredient magnesium sulfate (known as Epsom salt). Clinical research has proven that magnesium sulfate penetrates the skin barrier and calms aching and sore muscles and nerves.
Summer Prep
During the summer months, customers will be seeking relief for other issues that summer weather can create or exacerbate. “I think that acute muscle pain and joint strains, sunburn, bug bites, scratches and just the simple fact of overdoing things when the weather warms up are just part of the program in the summertime,” Myers commented.
Every year, said Cooper, it’s fair to say that most people look forward to the warmer weather of the summer months, spending time outside and enjoying delicious and seasonal fresh food. But, she cautioned, there can be downsides to this time of year with an increase in common complaints.
For example, thrush, which can occur at any time of the year, may be more of a common risk in summer because candida, the yeast that causes it, thrives in warm, moist conditions such as in a wet bathing suit. Urinary tract infections are also more commonly experienced during summer, Cooper noted, and prickly heat, an irritating skin condition also known as malaria, increases in summer as it is often instigated by increased perspiration.
For all these potential pain-producing situations, you can capture your customers’ attention through creative in-store merchandising and social media marketing. Seek out any local summer camps and activities (such as a volleyball and swim club), and cross-market; they would love the exposure and so would you. For example, if you are cross-promoting with a swim club, emphasize swimmer’s ear (natural ear relief drops), and potential UTIs (natural bladder and urinary tract support supplements).
For displays, envisioned Myers, “I think that brand blocks that center around a theme can make a great visual impact and really help direct customers right to the promotions.”
On your social media, try to create a fun summer fact a day, ranging widely from historical events taking place on a date in the summer, to a cool fact about a summer vegetable or fruit, to facts about how supplements work to mitigate summer pains. The daily frequency of presenting something new, timely and interesting will push your store and your expertise and products more to the forefront of your customers’ and potential customers’ minds when a summer mishap may occur, or just to step up their self-care routines.
If Binnie were marketing within the store, she “would want to make sure that my customers know there are some convenient, ‘take-along’ remedies for quick, on-the-go care.”
Summer store events and promotions can be educational and enjoyable for your customer base and profitable (and also fun) for you and your staff. VR
For More Information:
Bio-Kult, www.bio-kult.com
Boiron USA, www.boironusa.com
Epsom-It, Inc., www.epsomit.com
EuroPharma Inc., www.europharmausa.com
Gilad&Gilad, LLC, https://fornervehealth.com
Life Extension, www.lifeextension.com
Summertime often brings a variety of aches, strains, bug bites and of course, sunburn—mini maladies that often kick inflammation into higher gear. Here’s how to help.
The pool. The lake. The beach. The park. The campsite. Sun and burns, bugs and bites, running and tripping, swimming, volleyball spiking and hiking causing muscle strains. Yup, it’s summertime!
Be prepared, because you will likely see an uptick in customers seeking relief for inflammation-induced “ouch!” reactions from the wide variety of activities enjoyed in summer.
Vanessa Pavey, ND, education scientist at Florida-based Life Extension, observed that as the weather heats up moving into summer, people anticipate enjoying more time outdoors. “Spending the day at the beach, hiking or gardening may lead to over exertion, strains and sprains, or repetitive injuries,” she commented.
“A lot of the time, the pain people deal with most is acute pain from a surge of activity when the weather warms up and everyone wants to get outside,” agreed Cheryl Myers, chief of scientific affairs and education at Wisconsin-based EuroPharma, Inc. “So whether the injuries, sprains, pulled muscles, or other twinges and tweaks are due to playing in an amateur softball league, getting back into the garden, hiking in the woods, or riding a bicycle regularly again, acute pain is a big culprit.”
Many people still buy pain-relief products at the pharmacy. Kate Hill, category product manager, Pennsylvania-based Boiron, noted that the OTC (over-the-counter) pain management category is a mammoth one; it topped $5.3 billion last year.
“Traditional internal analgesics are familiar to consumers and include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen for oral ingestion,” she related. “Topical pain relievers and patches typically feature active ingredients like camphor, menthol or capsaicin to provide a counterirritant effect that masks pain by creating a temporary cooling or tingling sensation.”
With that in mind, however, many people are aware of the shortcomings of both OTC and prescription approaches to pain management and are seeking alternatives, according to Myers. But, she emphasized, people tend to want that pain, discomfort and inflammation to be relieved immediately, or as soon as possible.
She provided a well-known supplement combination as an example of confusion about pain resolution. “I believe this is where joint supplements, like glucosamine and chondroitin, may have been confusing for people in the past. They were often touted as ultimately relieving pain, but what they were really doing [was] helping preserve joints—which, of course, has the effect of relieving pain, but not quickly.”
Therefore, she added, while consumers want to find a botanical or nutrient solution to pain, they want it work comparably to what they could purchase at their pharmacy. The best natural products offer a both/and approach to pain relief and comfort management.
The role of inflammation in scrapes, bumps, muscle pulls, etc., is still not quite understood by consumers, according to retailer Tim O’Brien, founder of Wisconsin-based Your Healthy Place. “My customers often believe if there is no swelling then there is no inflammation. They also think that if there is no pain there is no inflammation in the body,” he reported. “Both are common misconceptions around inflammation.”
O’Brien and his staff emphasize educating their customers about the role of inflammation in discomfort, and also how it is widespread; for example, inflammation plays a role in almost all diseases as well as being a big part of nearly all forms of pain. Further, he tells customers that gut issues likely have inflammation as the instigating factor. “Inflammation is perhaps the most important topic to educate on and around since more than 80 percent of our health conditions will be reduced if one cleans the system of inflammation each day with supplements that work, which is what we tell our customers,” he stated.
Pavey agreed, noting that in addressing pain and discomfort, balancing the inflammatory response is a main target, so it is important for retailers to sell products containing ingredients with clinical support that provide noticeable benefits within hours.
In tandem and in addition, the growing interest and research in the endocannabinoid system is helping to inform brands to formulate products that do indeed help provide relief sooner rather than later, she added.
A prime example is palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a fatty acid in the endocannabinoid family that is naturally made in the body and does not cause psychotropic effects. PEA helps manage pain-signal pathways. Multiple studies have established that PEA works at the site of the original injury, supporting a more normalized response to tissue damage and lowering peripheral inflammation.
There’s another set of people who are dealing with discomfort due to nerve function impairment. According to Gad M. Gilad, PhD, CEO of Texas-based Gilad&Gilad, LLC, “Discomforts associated with challenges to healthy nerve functions constitute a major segment of the population living with chronic discomfort. Whether severe and disabling or intermittently bothersome, chronic nerve discomfort affects over 30 million Americans.”
According to GlobeNewswire, he cited, the global market value associated with chronic nerve discomfort was estimated at $6.3 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $9.8 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5.6 percent between 2020 and 2027. This increase is expected to further accelerate with the anticipated growth of the aged population in the coming years.
“Most people suffer from muscle aches and pains from activities such as gardening, running and biking,” said Heather Binnie, CEO, Epsom-It, Inc. (Portsfield, NH) “Bathing in Epsom salt for over 400 years has been a method to recover from muscle soreness. Epsom-It Muscle Recovery Lotion is a concentrated Magnesium sulfate formula that is 30 [times] stronger than an Epsom salt soak and can be applied directly where there is discomfort.”
She added that running and cycling clubs are very active in the summer, and muscles aches are frequently experienced in these communities.
The Natural Offerings
Your customers can choose to combine supplements for both chronic discomfort and more immediate relief without any side effects or worries about liver damage.
One of the most widely known and well-used herbs in both supplements and topical products for providing comfort and relief is Arnica montana. This herb has been used for centuries as a natural pain reliever and shown through research to provide therapeutic effects on pain and act as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, pointed out Christophe Merville, D.Pharm, Boiron’s director of education & pharmacy development.
In 2014, he related, Boiron initiated a randomized clinical evaluation of Arnicare Gel on sports-related muscular soreness and pain. Results showed that the overall level of stiffness during the 72 hours following the sports game was significantly less in the group using Arnicare Gel versus placebo.
The Arnicare topical line offers a form for every preference, and all are free of fragrances, dyes and parabens. Consumers can choose from quickly absorbed gel, moisturizing massage cream and ointment. “These non-sticky formulas don’t just mask pain. Instead, they are powered by arnica to relieve muscle pain, stiffness and swelling from injuries without having a strong medicinal smell. Additionally and uniquely, Arnicare provides the extra benefit of reducing discoloration from bruises,” Merville described.
Boiron’s Arnicare brand includes meltaway tablets and pellets designed to dissolve in the mouth without water. “This sublingual option is not only convenient but provides one of the fastest routes of administration for medicine,” Merville asserted. As a homeopathic medicine, Arnicare tablets and pellets are free from the stomach discomfort often associated with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and can be taken on an empty stomach. Furthermore, they have no known drug interactions, meaning consumers can safely combine these meltaway forms with an Arnicare topical without concern.
EuroPharma’s topical relief product, Traumaplant Comfrey Cream, is formulated with a specialized comfrey developed especially for the product that contains no pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), and uses the flowers, stems and leaves of the plant, according to Myers. The comfrey contains three compounds that provide major benefits: allantoin, choline and rosmarinic acid. The product has been clinically studied in adults and children.
To achieve fast and effective relief, extracts of turmeric, Boswellia serrata and black sesame seed have been clinically studied together to quickly address discomfort in the muscles, joints and ligaments by helping to support a healthy inflammatory response, according to Pavey. These herbs are effective by themselves, but when combined provide stronger efficacy as shown in a study.
In the 2020 human study, she described, researchers recruited 88 healthy men and women who experienced acute musculoskeletal discomfort within the previous 24 hours. The participants were given 1,000 mg of the herbal combination or 1,000 mg of acetaminophen for seven days. Both groups started feeling relief within about 2.5 hours, showing the herbal combination is a quick and effective way to address musculoskeletal discomforts. Life Extension’s product, Fast Acting Relief, contains turmeric, boswellia and black sesame extracts to inhibit inflammation, Pavey explained.
Another option comes from Europharma; CuraMed Acute Pain Relief is great for sudden onset pain, according to Myers. It includes BCM-95 curcumin, and standardized BOS-10 boswellia, which are suspended in black sesame seed oil that acts as an emulsifier. Black sesame seed oil has been traditionally used in ayurvedic medicine to aid in carrying and dispersing fat-soluble ingredients and it also exhibits anti-inflammatory properties.
“CuraMed Acute Pain Relief has been shown to be as effective as the popular over the counter option, acetaminophen,” Myers commented. “In a clinical study, the ingredient combination “matched extra-strength acetaminophen in reducing pain intensity and pain magnitude, holding steady all the way through seven-day study,” she described. “Additionally, the botanical combination was 8.5 times better than acetaminophen at reducing the emotional distress and unpleasantness associated with pain, including the feelings of fatigue, fearfulness and the sense of being ‘punished’ by pain.”
Retailer O’Brien likes to recommend CuraHealth turmeric by Lively Vitamin Co. for inflammation-related pain and discomfort. “It has excellent health claims, such as eases aches and discomfort that stem from unhealthy inflammation, and assists in relieving aches and stiffness caused by physical overuse,” he emphasized.
Solutions for Ongoing Discomfort
According to PubMed data from 2022, the prevalence of chronic pain in Americans is increasing. Every year, one out of five people suffers from chronic pain. So, it is a safe assumption that your store is visited by quite a few individuals who can use help in this area. For more chronic discomforts, clinical studies using PEA have found noticeable relief after 14-30 days of use, and sometimes in as little as one week, reported Pavey. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 636 participants with sciatic discomfort who took 600 mg of PEA, there were significantly improved scores on assessments of discomfort at three weeks in the PEA group compared to placebo.
Pavey also highly recommended for retailers to not forget suggesting omega-3 EFAs, as EPA and DHA are shown in multiple studies to help address chronic inflammation, especially in individuals with joint discomfort.
Chronic discomfort among athletic and older active individuals tends to occur in the large joints, such as knees and hips. Europharma’s original pain-relieving formulas Curamin and Curamin Extra Strength feature the same clinically studied curcumin and boswellia as its CuraMed Acute Pain Relief plus DLPA and nattokinase, said Myers.
“Both the BCM-95 curcumin alone and combined with BOS-10 boswellia have been clinically shown to reduce pain and support mobility in cases of arthritis, comparing favorably to prescription and OTC medications. They help relieve chronic pain, increase walking distance and physical comfort—even those would have categorized themselves as having ‘severe arthritis’ before participating in those studies,” she explained.
A type of chronic pain that can be severely debilitating is a migraine, which is more than simply a headache. And there are natural products that can help those with migraines to experience some relief. According to the article published in the JAMA Network in January 2022, 17.1 percent of women and 5.6 percent of men in the U.S. reported having migraine symptoms. And according to a report from Mordor Intelligence about the pain management market, the high prevalence of migraine is expected to boost the migraine therapeutics market. Migraines tend to be triggered by bright light such as summer sunlight, among other things.
“There is evidence to suggest that the physiological processes associated with migraines, such as alterations in the immune system which trigger inflammation, and alterations in the pathway which controls the body’s stress response, may be influenced by our gut bacteria via a variety of mechanisms,” explained Liz Cooper, technical advisor, Bio-Kult.
Bio-Kult carried out a study looking at probiotics in the management of migraine headache. According to Cooper, the study is the largest double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) of probiotic supplements conducted to date in this area. It included 100 participants with migraines (50 with episodic migraine (<15 headache days) a month and 50 with chronic migraine (>15 headache days a month). The two groups were randomized to receive either the 14 strains in Bio-Kult Migréa (4 billion CFU/day) or placebo for 8-10 weeks.
Cooper reported that the results showed that Bio-Kult Migréa supplementation significantly reduced migraine frequency compared to placebo. Frequency was reduced by 40 percent in the episodic group and 45 percent in the chronic group, and migraine intensity reduced by 29 percent in the episodic group and 31 percent in the chronic migraine group.
Gilad&Gilad develops and markets the Agmaceuticals line of patented products containing G-agmatine. According to Gilad, the line was developed based on the 1994 discovery of the neuroprotective properties of agmatine (a metabolite of the amino acid arginine), which was substantiated by worldwide scientific research.
He explained that “G-agmatine (Gilad&Gilad’s brand of agmatine), the active ingredient of our products, exerts its beneficial effects like a ‘molecular shotgun’ by targeting a broad spectrum of molecular mechanisms essential for healthy nervous system functions. Human clinical trials have shown the benefits of G-agmatine in accelerating recovery and improving health-related quality-of-life when coping with various challenges to nerve health.”
Additionally, Binnie noted, many people suffer from damaged nerves in their feet, ankles and calves, “and Epsom-It Soothing Nerve lotion can be applied directly to those damaged nerves for soothing relief.”
Epsom-It contains the natural analgesic ingredient magnesium sulfate (known as Epsom salt). Clinical research has proven that magnesium sulfate penetrates the skin barrier and calms aching and sore muscles and nerves.
Summer Prep
During the summer months, customers will be seeking relief for other issues that summer weather can create or exacerbate. “I think that acute muscle pain and joint strains, sunburn, bug bites, scratches and just the simple fact of overdoing things when the weather warms up are just part of the program in the summertime,” Myers commented.
Every year, said Cooper, it’s fair to say that most people look forward to the warmer weather of the summer months, spending time outside and enjoying delicious and seasonal fresh food. But, she cautioned, there can be downsides to this time of year with an increase in common complaints.
For example, thrush, which can occur at any time of the year, may be more of a common risk in summer because candida, the yeast that causes it, thrives in warm, moist conditions such as in a wet bathing suit. Urinary tract infections are also more commonly experienced during summer, Cooper noted, and prickly heat, an irritating skin condition also known as malaria, increases in summer as it is often instigated by increased perspiration.
For all these potential pain-producing situations, you can capture your customers’ attention through creative in-store merchandising and social media marketing. Seek out any local summer camps and activities (such as a volleyball and swim club), and cross-market; they would love the exposure and so would you. For example, if you are cross-promoting with a swim club, emphasize swimmer’s ear (natural ear relief drops), and potential UTIs (natural bladder and urinary tract support supplements).
For displays, envisioned Myers, “I think that brand blocks that center around a theme can make a great visual impact and really help direct customers right to the promotions.”
On your social media, try to create a fun summer fact a day, ranging widely from historical events taking place on a date in the summer, to a cool fact about a summer vegetable or fruit, to facts about how supplements work to mitigate summer pains. The daily frequency of presenting something new, timely and interesting will push your store and your expertise and products more to the forefront of your customers’ and potential customers’ minds when a summer mishap may occur, or just to step up their self-care routines.
If Binnie were marketing within the store, she “would want to make sure that my customers know there are some convenient, ‘take-along’ remedies for quick, on-the-go care.”
Summer store events and promotions can be educational and enjoyable for your customer base and profitable (and also fun) for you and your staff. VR
For More Information:
