Intercostal Muscle Strain Relief — An Advance7 Customer Review

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I worked in printing all my life, from when I left school right through to retirement, all with the same company.

We were a very big printing company doing large-scale jobs. Holiday brochures and all the big catalogues that sold absolutely everything. Clothing, hi-fis, children’s toys, furniture, you name it. Some of those catalogues were enormous, hundreds of pages long, and we printed hundreds of thousands of them over the years.

That was the bulk of the work really, although we handled plenty of smaller jobs in between as well.

Christmas was always busy, and then almost straight afterwards we’d move straight into printing holiday brochures for the summer season. There was always something going on.

It was hard work, but I genuinely enjoyed it. The best part was probably the camaraderie amongst the team. I was lucky, I worked with some really good lads over the years.

Even now that I’m retired, I still play badminton once or twice a week with a few of the guys from the printers. Some of us have known each other for more than fifty years now, which is quite strange when you stop and think about it.

What problems were you having before the injury?

I’d already been using Advance7 for about two years before this happened.

I used to really suffer with knee stiffness when climbing stairs. We’ve got three floors in our house and it became a genuine problem for me over time.

I started using Advance7 Gel regularly and it eased the pain massively. That was what originally got me using it in the first place.

So what happened with the injury?

I stretched awkwardly reaching for a shot at badminton and instantly knew something bad had happened.

The pain was sharp straight away, right through my ribs and side.

By the time I got home it was getting worse very quickly. I remember trying to get changed and struggling to lift my arm properly. Later that evening, after the shower, I could barely get a T-shirt back on because the pain was so intense.

That’s when I knew this was not just a normal pulled muscle.

Did you go to the doctor?

Straight away.

The doctor examined me and said it was an intercostal muscle strain.

Apparently these injuries can take a surprisingly long time to heal because every movement aggravates the damaged muscle, even breathing properly sometimes.

I remember asking him how long does it take muscle strains to heal because I honestly could not imagine coping with that level of pain for weeks on end.

He said mild strains can improve in a few weeks, but more serious injuries sometimes take up to two months or even longer.

That was not what I wanted to hear.

What was the worst part?

Sleeping.

Without question.

One of the worst things was figuring out how to sleep with intercostal muscle strain because every position seemed uncomfortable.

Turning over hurt. Getting out of bed hurt. Even laughing or sneezing hurt.

The doctor had already warned me that the injury could take a long time to settle down properly, so naturally that was sitting in the back of my mind as well.

For me, Advance7 was a godsend really. I genuinely think it accelerated my recovery and made things much more bearable while it was healing.

Interestingly, a neighbour of mine had a recent intercostal muscle strain that wouldn’t heal properly and seemed to drag on for ages. I told him to try Advance7 and he said it really helped him as well.

When did you try Advance7 on it?

Quite early on.

Because I was already using Advance7 regularly on my knees, I thought I’d carefully try a little around the strained area as well.

At first it was extremely tender. Even touching the area wasn’t pleasant.

But I started applying it morning and night.

Within about a week, it became noticeably more bearable.

The biggest difference was sleeping. I could finally get reasonably comfortable again instead of constantly waking up every time I moved.

How long before you got back to badminton?

Around three weeks.

I started feeling noticeably better after the second week and by week three I was back playing gently again.

Honestly, I was surprised how quickly things improved considering the doctor had warned me it could drag on for a couple of months.

I genuinely believe Advance7 made a big difference.

And how are things now?

Very good.

I still use Advance7 regularly and occasionally on my back or shoulders if I overdo things, particularly in hard to reach areas.

At our age, staying active matters enormously.

Once pain starts affecting your sleep and stopping you doing the things you enjoy, it really affects your quality of life.

That’s why I always keep a tube in the house now.