Sports creams may do little for pain

Another truth has outlived its shelf life.

"Popular over-the-counter sports rubs may have little real effect on aching muscles and painful joints, a research review suggests.

The review looked at 16 clinical trials investigating topical remedies containing salicylates, a group of compounds, including aspirin, used to ease aches, inflammation and fever.

Many familiar sports rubs, like Aspercreme, Ben Gay and Icy Hot, contain one or more salicylates, often in combination with other active ingredients like menthol.

'The point is, you go to any pharmacy in the U.S. and find tons of these things, but they don't work,' Andrew Moore, a biochemist at Oxford University in the UK and the senior researcher on the review, said in a written statement.

'I wouldn't waste the money,' he advised. 'You might as well rub your skin with a bit of spit.'"

Or s*it.