Winter has arrived, the snow has passed, the temperature is gradually decreasing, and the daytime temperature is often below zero. As the weather gradually becomes colder, various temperature-related diseases show an obvious trend of high incidence, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, bone and joint diseases, etc., especially neck, shoulder, lumbar and leg pain and other bone and joint diseases bring the most significant pain to people. For such diseases, the most common treatment method is to use topical creams. So why can creams cure diseases? How to choose the cream? It is one of the most important treatment methods in the external treatment of Chinese medicine, which perfectly embodies the treatment concept of “let the good medicine not be bitter”. The so-called external treatment is relative to the internal treatment, which is also based on the diagnosis and treatment. The earliest monograph on external treatment is “The theory of external treatment is the theory of internal treatment, and the medicine of external treatment is the medicine of internal treatment, but the difference is also the method.” Modern pharmacological research has found that the pharmacological absorption basis of external treatment of Chinese medicine is roughly divided into two aspects, one is the absorption of drugs through the pores, and the other is the absorption through the interstices of skin cells. The skin is one of the most important organs of the human body and has a strong “breathing” function. Topical drugs can be well absorbed and metabolized through the mucous membrane of the skin through appropriate methods. Therefore, under the guidance of evidence-based treatment, topical ointment can not only play its proper therapeutic role, but also has the advantages that internal medicine does not have. For example, topical creams have a wide range of Chinese medicine components, and can be applied to some of the oral medicine with certain toxic side effects; topical creams are absorbed percutaneously, with higher local drug concentration and better local therapeutic effect; topical drugs are easy to use and so on. So for the common clinical neck, shoulder, back and leg pain, what is the difference between the various types of creams available in pharmacies? How to choose? First of all, neck, shoulder, waist and leg pain basically belongs to the category of paralysis in Chinese medicine. For the reason of pain, simply speaking, it is just “if it does not pass, it hurts, if it does not glory, it hurts”. If you do not pass, it is painful, both because of the pain caused by external sensation of the six sexes, internal injury to the seven emotions, Qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm condensation, etc. blocking the meridians and causing the Qi and blood to not flow smoothly; if you do not glory, it is painful because the Qi and blood cannot moisten and cause pain. So on this basis let’s see how to choose the common clinical topical ointment. Musk Bone Strength Ointment: The main components are anise, kaempferia, raw Sichuan wu, raw herbal wu, ephedra, dahurica, atractylodes, angelica, dried ginger, artificial musk, menthol, ice chips and so on. In addition to musk, its main components include three types of drugs: dispelling wind and dampness, warming Yang and dispersing cold, and activating blood circulation. Musk is a pungent and warm drug that belongs to the heart and spleen meridians, and has the function of opening the body and awakening the mind, activating blood circulation and relieving pain, etc. What is more significant in this ointment is its aromatic circulation, which can lead other drugs to pass between the meridians and play a better therapeutic effect. It is especially suitable for those who suffer from sore and heavy joints, and whose pain is obviously aggravated by wind and cold or cold and wet weather. Musk and Tiger Bone Ointment: In addition to most of the drugs in Musk and Bone Ointment, Tiger Bone is the most important drug. Tiger bone is sweet, pungent and warm, belongs to the liver and kidney meridian, and has the function of chasing wind and fixing pain, treating cold joints and swelling and pain in the knees and shins. Therefore, Musk Tiger Bone Ointment is more suitable for people with swollen and painful joints and wandering pain than Musk Bone Ointment. Blood-strengthening and pain-relieving ointment: The main ingredients are dried ginger, kaempferia, angelica dahurica, gangsong, rhubarb, raw tiannanxing, raw semen, myrrh, frankincense, ice chips, menthol, peony bark, thorny mustard, cinchona, cayenne pepper, Chuanxiong, douhu, Xiangjiapi, clove, cinnamon stick, pepper, atractylodes, Chenpi, xinyi and so on. The main components of the medicine are mainly to invigorate blood circulation, move Qi and relieve pain, and also to dispel wind and dampness, warm Yang and disperse cold. It is most suitable for those who have stagnant blood stasis, such as pain with fixed location, stabbing pain that does not move, purple complexion, purple tongue, and tortuous veins under the tongue. Dampness and pain relief ointment: The main drug composition is raw herbaceous wool, raw Sichuan wool, frankincense, myrrh, raw strychnine, cinnamon, thornbush, stork’s wort, Xiangjiapi, snowdrop, bone marrow, dahurica, crabapple and ginger. Its drug composition is based on warming Yang, dispersing cold, dispelling wind and dampness, relieving pain, and activating blood circulation. It is suitable for heavy pain and soreness caused by dampness and turbidity obstruction, such as some patients with rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Dog Skin Poultice: The main ingredients are raw Chuan Wu, raw Cao Wu, Qiang Wu, Dou Wu, Qing Feng Vine, Xiang Jia Pi, Fang Feng, Wire Wei Ling Xian, Atractylodes Macrocephalae, Serpentine, Ephedra, Gao Liang Jiang, Cumin, Guan Gui, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Red Peony, Papaya, Su Mu, Rhubarb, Oleander, Pine Nodules, Sequoia, Chuan Xiong, Dahuricae, Frankincense, Myrrh, Ice, Camphor, Clove, Cinnamon and so on. Dog skin plaster is the most long-standing and widely used topical plaster, its composition contains a variety of drugs to dispel wind and dampness, warm the Yang and disperse cold, invigorate blood circulation, aromatic orifice, etc., the most comprehensive effect, suitable for a variety of wind-cold damp paralysis, paralysis caused by stagnant blood stasis, etc., but for acute soft tissue water pain should not be applied. Qizheng pain-relieving paste: the main components of the drug are Duyiwei, Echinocereus, Turmeric, Pepper, Buffalo Horns, Water Cypress Branch, etc. The most obvious difference between the composition of pain relief ointment and the above topical ointment is that its main medicine, Duyiwei, is bitter and slightly cold in nature, has a small poison, and its function is to activate the blood to dispel blood stasis, eliminate swelling and relieve pain. Buffalo horn salty cold into the blood, the function of clearing heat and cooling blood detoxification; water cypress branch pungent sweet warm, dispel wind and dampness to stop paralysis and pain. Therefore, Qizheng Pain Relieving Ointment has a significant effect on pain caused by old and new blood stasis, and is more suitable for “old and old injuries” caused by bruises and injuries.