This 2 part series email covers most of the questions we usually get. It is an honest assessment of the product performance by a well-known California physical therapist in the Bay area.

----- Original Message ----
From: Nadine Frush <nadine@frushbotanicals.com >
To: gmarshall_23@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2008 11:16:50 AM
Subject: Elixer Arnica Sports Rub

Hi Nadine

I just threw it (Elixer Arnica Sports Rub) at everything and here is what our " un-scientific " results yielded:

Client 1: 16 yr old male football player with lower back pain and tightness.  Short term relief but not sustained.  Discomfort returned during the workout and we did not consider it very effective.

Client 2: 16 yr old female hurdler with mild tendonitis type pain in the knee.  She had fast and good relief and it lasted throughout the workout each time she used it.

Client 3: 17 yr old male basketball player with long history of knee pain and discomfort.  Cream worked great.  Probably the best results of all clients to the point where he insists on using it before each workout.  Great results each time he used the product.

Client 4: 46 yr old male with history of lower back pain.  Short term relief but not sustained, probably 60-90 min.  Did not feel much penetrating sensation but did notice initial relief albeit it was short lived.

Client 5: 14 yr old male football/basketball player with muscle tightness and stiff knee.  Good results in that he saw fast and sustained relief.  Looks to use the product on a regular basis when symptoms re-surface.

 Basically we like the product, our opinion is that the cream works best when penetration does not have to go too deep as in joint areas.  When the discomfort is reasonably deep as in large muscle or dense area like the lower back, it is effective but not as sustaining.

Greg Marshall

Marshall Sports Performance

San Jose, CA

----- Original Message ----
From: Nadine Frush <nadine@frushbotanicals.com>
To: Greg Marshall <gmarshall_23@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 10:51:38 AM
Subject: Re: Elixer Arnica Sports Rub

Originally the cream was designed to renourish and revitalize skin after heavy workouts.  My daughter is a swimmer and had problems with chlorine/bromide-treated water, dry, flaky skin, and red areas from getting abrasions from pool walls, and rubbing of clothing.  The cocoa butter &  Bulgarian rose soothes the skin, Tangerine essential oil helps in reducing scarring, stretch marks, and cuts, Tea tree oil is an antiseptic, and Egyptian geranium stimulates cellular growth.

Then Suzanne injured her shoulder, and I started messing around with Arnica Montana, oil derived from a flower that looks like a daisy.  I also added Soybean oil.  I've known about Arnica for years, it's an old European and Central American remedy for muscle injuries.  There are quite a few arnica products on the market, but most are very weak with a poor or non-existent cream base.  Mine is about 65 times stronger.

Uses of Elixer:  The deeper the penetration needed, the more regularly you need to use the product.  The best way is with heat.

Case in Point:  My husband tore something in his calf muscle playing basketball, and came home limping, screaming for the crutches.  He's 6'6, and I am 5'3, so he being injured (and a pain whimp) is a big deal in our house. He was moaning about being unable to play for 6 months and at his age (57) he really should quit basketball. He iced it, then I made him get into to the hot tub (that was fun to watch).  When he got out, I rubbed the calf with Elixer (also breaking the lactic acid buildup in the calf) and placed him on a hot pad.  He watched a game on TV (tivo) and was able afterwards to walk around without crutches.  We repeated the hot pad/Elixer treatment around dinner and before bed.  The next morning, he rubbed on cream and at lunch.  At 1 pm (he remembered the time), he was fine - no pain.  He said he only felt the injury when he would go up the stairs.  Two week later, using the Elixer morning and night (no deep massage, no heat), he went back to playing basketball (but was careful).

So with back problems and deep muscle issues, I suggest intensifying the use of Elixer as we did.  For a chronic pain (I've got foot problems due to ballet and the damn toe shoes, and partially torn ACL from skiing, and some weird pains from I don't know what) Elixer works great using it in the morning.  Once the pain goes away and seems to stay away, stop using the product.

Arthritis:  Because the joint being eaten by arthritis is crippled, the muscles take on the burden of the work.  With Elixer, we've seen people with hand (immobile thumbs) and knee problems alleviated. I presume that the muscles around the joint have been inflamed, and the Elixer reduces that inflammation.
 
Surgery:  This is a great product to use to prep muscles before surgery since it gets out the inflammation and doesn't hit the stomach, kidneys, or liver like Ibuprofen.  An untapped market is to prep skin for plastic surgery. 

After surgery, Elixer will irritate the wound, but can be placed around the area for reduction of inflammation and bruising

Thanks..............................Nadine