UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Arthur Minahan has always been interested in the workings of the human body. When the senior kinesiology major found out about the opportunity to participate in an innovative research project investigating potential additional benefits of a popular pain management gel, he jumped at the chance to participate.
Last summer, Minahan started working directly with Associate Professor of Kinesiology Lacy Alexander to further examine the effects of a commercially available, FDA-approved menthol-based gel called Biofreeze. The research project sought to determine if the gel not only reduces pain at the site of its application, but also at other parts of the body through dermatomes. Dermatomes refer to areas of skin that have common innervation — or a nerve — from a single spinal root.
“Building upon the knowledge that menthol gel relieves pain and increases skin blood flow, we were interested in examining if the induced effects carried over throughout a dermatome,” Minahan said.
In other words, the investigators sought to determine if menthol gel applied directly to one area of the body also helped increase blood flow to other areas of the body that are “connected” via nerves.
To do so, the investigators measured skin blood flow and sensory nerve thresholds at a Biofreeze treatment site and at a control site within the same dermatome on the contralateral — or opposite — leg.
The team discovered that the Biofreeze not only increased blood flow where it was applied, but also increased blood flow in the areas of the contralateral leg.