What can I do about arthritis in neck and lower back?

Could I ask you all two questions? Does Voltarin calm angry nerve pain in the neck area? Second, since alcohol in any topical aggravates my pain, is alcohol free available?
I have bad Fibromyalgia and massages and PT on my neck always thrown me into a terribly painful flare up for days. So I just have to do heated bean bag or ice pack on my neck. Muscle relaxer too but they cause constipation 😞

I hate the over the counter stuff with all that alcohol!!! Try the 3% Diclofenic - there's no or very little alcohol and it is MUCH more effective (and insurance covers it because it is by prescription.) I guess volteran and diclofenec ar the same. (excuse my typos). Walking and breathing and stretching really help my fibromyalgia.... so do what you can when you can. I walk every morning no matter what shape I am in. I am lucky I am on low dose Percocet for 25 years. It helps me walk thru the pain.

TU so much for the helpful tips! I’ll sure do those that I can. I itch with all the opioids unfortunately. One reason I’m in bad shape is that I fell very hard three mos ago onto my chin and chest bone.

Thanks Lorie. Your explanation of MFR was much more elegant than my description of a helpful massage, although I think my masseuse was practicing MFR. At one point, he said he could "feel" when he had created some separation between my rhomboid muscles and my shoulder blade (scapula).

You also raise a good point about why MFR is needed in the first place. Over time, and without adequate stretching or massage, muscles accumulate lactic acid (the by-product of exercise or any exertion, really). Lactic acid has been explained to me as being like Elmer's Glue - sticky, nasty stuff that glues muscle fibers together, and glues muscles to bones.

Because this happens over time, we are scarcely aware of how it affects us. In my case, my rhomboid muscle got tight and painful when I laid down on one side. I just stumbled on a gifted masseuse who did provide some relief.

Thanks again for your explanation. And if anyone reading this does get either an MFR treatment, or even a good, hard deep-tissue massage, drink a lot of water after because a lot of lactic acid is freed up and has to be flushed from the body. And if you can afford it, get this treatment once or twice a month to literally keep things moving.

Joe