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THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF A TRICOMPONENT GEL CONTAINING PIROXICAM, LIDOCAINE AND CYCLOBENZAPRINE, IN MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES IN ATHLETES

ALIN NICOLAE POPESCU *, EMIL COTENESCU, BEATRICE COSTANDACHE, BOGDAN GHERGHICEANU, MARIUS LICA TODOSI

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Sport-related injuries produces local inflammation, pain, oedema and local sensitivity. The pain is accompanied by impaired mobility and functionality and, in severe traumas, by disability. The present non-interventional study assessed the efficacy and safety of a topical combination of a NSAID (piroxicam 5 mg/g) with two sodium channel blockers anaesthetics (lidocaine 20 mg/g, cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride 5 mg/g) as a topical tricomponent gel (PLC) versus a topical gel only with a NSAID (piroxicam 10 mg/g) but in higher concentration, in the management of pain in sport related musculoskeletal injuries. The study was conducted on 90 rugby players from Romanian National Rugby Lot. The significant effectiveness of PLC gel was obvious from the first results in day 2: in the PLC gel group, pain on movement decreased by 17.91% and pain on pressure by 19.6% versus 9.28% and 10.12% respectively in the Piroxicam 1% gel group. Patients in the PLC gel group reported pain alleviation 15 minutes subsequent to topical application, and the effect lasted for an average of 11 hours. The effect of Piroxicam 1% gel was reported after an average of 52 minutes, but longer intervals of 80 minutes were also reported. The effect of Piroxicam 1% gel lasted up to 6 hours. The results from day 7 and then day 14 confirmed the superior efficacy of PLC gel versus Piroxicam 1% gel previously noticed in the results of the first visit. In day 14 in the PLC group pain alleviation increased by 70% considering both parameters, while in the Piroxicam 1% gel group it did not go beyond 45%. The analysis of the pain-free patients at the end of the treatment revealed an efficacy of 32% in pain on movement and 57% in pain on pressure in the PLC group and 2.32% in pain on movement and 6.97% in pain on pressure in the Piroxicam 1% gel group.