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If you spend a lot of time in planning groups in Japan, at some point, you will see a picture of the packet below and hear people raving about these magic pink patches. Called kyosoku jikan, it’s said that if you put them on aching feet or sore legs at night, you’ll wake up the next morning raring to go. But, do you… and if you do, why? We checked them out.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
What Happened When We Tried Them?
Okay, let’s start by saying ‘believe the hype’. I spend a lot of my time in pain because I have some stupid muscles that like to do jobs they aren’t trained for, while others are basically on a permanent holiday. This means that after walking 10-20km a day, every day, in Japan, I am not a stranger to aches and pains at bedtime. And so, on my last trip, I decided to add the magic pink patches to my toolkit.
The first surprise was how nice they smelled—there’s menthol in there and some floral scents, which makes them quite pleasant to use. The second surprise was that they got cold—really cold.
Both of these things give me a clue as to how they work, but to understand them properly, I needed to translate the ingredients and then ask an expert.
What’s In the Pink Patch?
They’re coated with a gel containing the oils of five different herbs: sage, lavender, rosemary, lemon, and orange. The gel also contains menthol, which creates a cooling sensation once applied to the skin. As herbalist Katherine Maslen from The Shift Clinic, in Brisbane, Australia, explains, this is a pretty good combination for pain relief.
‘There’s is a lot of research on essential oils and their benefits when it comes to aches and pains – both inhaled and applied topically – and each of the oils in the patches has some anti-pain properties.
Rosemary is an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. It also enhances circulation and blood flow, which could be helpful in pain and injury. Sage is also traditionally used as an anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory.
Lavender oil is interesting because it would not be my first pick for pain, but inhaling it seems to help reduce pain perception, and there is also evidence that it is a topical analgesic. Rose oil also has evidence for its analgesic effects, both by inhalation and used topically.
Lastly, the inhalation of orange oil has also been studied and found to be helpful for pain – with one study even finding it helped pain after fractured limbs.’
Katherine also explains that the addition of menthol in the patches is important. ‘Menthol can reduce pain by stimulating pain receptors – which leads to a reflexive or paradoxical desensitisation of the receptors,’ she told us.
In other words, it confuses your pain receptors, so they only feel the signals coming from the tingly menthol sensation, not the painful feelings. On top of this, when applied to the skin, menthol has a cooling sensation and cold can help calm inflammation that makes aches and pains last longer.
‘I’m not surprised that the patches helped you,’ says Katherine. ‘I think the impact from both topical application and the inhalation throughout the night can be considered complementary to one another in the process of healing the tissue and reducing pain.’
Where Should You Apply the Patches?
The instructions suggest using the pads on the bottom of your feet or to your calves on days when you have walked or stood a lot.
That’s not where my pain is, so I used them on the muscles that ached most at night—the ones that are normally around my hip—and the other day, when I had a backache sitting at my desk, I stuck one on then, too!
Anywhere You Shouldn’t Stick Them?
The instructions say not to use them around the eyes (Mr Japlanease has just wandered off with watering eyes as he came up to my office, being nosy about what I was doing, and decided to shove one too near his face).
You also mustn’t stick them on mucous membranes (which means soft tissues like the inside of your nose or mouth and other, erm, more private bits). Don’t use them on broken skin, or skin affected with conditions like eczema.
Also, remove the patch and stop using them if you develop irritation, rash or other skin issues when they’re on, and don’t use them at all if you have a sensitivity, or allergy, to any of the ingredients.
How to Put Them On
Because the instructions are all in Japanese, you might not read this bit, but it will make a difference. The pads are covered with a thin, clear plastic sheet. When you peel that off, you reveal the sticky surface underneath – but don’t peel it all off at once.
The patches aren’t firm, so as you try to stick them on, they flop around, and the edges stick together. They unpeel easily, but to get a better fix from the outset, it’s better to peel off half the plastic, position one end, and then peel the other.
If you’ve had a bath or shower before bed, ensure the skin is fully dry before putting them on.
Also note that if you stick them on places that are in contact with the mattress, like your knee or your hip, they can peel off at night as you move around.
Each patch lasts one overnight wear.
Where Do You Buy Them?
You’ll often find them in convenience stores and the big drugstores that are in most busy neighbourhoods. (These are often also a good place to pick up big bags of Japanese KitKats, BTW).
Drugstores are also often the cheapest places to buy them. I bought a pack of 18 for 658 yen from a discount drugstore when a normal pack of six costs close to 400 yen in the Konbini.
If you’re visiting Disney, I also noticed some of the Disney hotel shops had them.
Can You Buy Them Outside of Japan?
Yes, if you tried the patches and liked them and want to use them at home or on other trips where you’re walking a lot, you can order them via various websites selling Japanese goodies, including Dokodemo.
