A TRIVIAL PURSUIT

More stuff an Uber RideShare Driver learns from Passengers

This week’s edition is a bit off the beaten path as far as topics are concerned.  I am including it for two reasons: 

1. It provides a fascinating insight into how the human brain functions.
2. Knowing this obscure piece of information might give you an advantage when playing trivia or trying to impress strangers at cocktail parties.

I had a passenger earlier this week who worked as a physical therapist and had a great deal of experience treating people with sports-related strains and pains.  

Eventually, the topic of over-the-counter sports medicine products came up and I was particularly interested in hearing her opinion of popular pain relief balms like Icy Hot or Ben Gay.  I am not particularly athletic.  OK, I am not at all athletic.  But I have used both of these products.  They do make your skin feel quite hot then very cool—an interesting sensation. 

 

Out of curiosity, I asked how these medications work.  The main ingredient, she explained, is menthol.  Menthol is a natural oil that dilates the capillaries in the skin, allowing more blood to flow and creating a sense of warmth. 

“So”, I guessed, “the heat created by the menthol helps the muscle to relax and reduces the pain, right?”  Wrong. 

 

Before reading ahead, please pause and take your best guess.  I’ll wait

patiently and hum the “Final Jeopardy” theme music until you are ready.

[musical interlude]

 

The way that these hot/cold heat rubs work is by making the problem worse, not better.  As my passenger explained, menthol is known as a “counter-irritant”. The sensation of warmth & cold overwhelms the sensation of pain.  The hot/cold feeling on our skin is simply a distraction. The pain is still there.  We do not notice it because our mind is too busy feeling the changing skin temperature.  So in reality, those rubs work the same way a magic trick works:  the thing we think is happening really isn't happening.  The magician simply creates the illusion that it is.  Now that is medical magic... kind of.

 

Every time I activate the Uber app and head out to drive, I meet fascinating people and often learn amazing things from them.  “Counter-Irritant”--  Now I know and so do you.

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