Methods and compositions for treating pain at a specific site with an effective concentration of capsaicin or analogues thereof are described. The methods involve providing anesthesia to the site where the capsaicin or analogues thereof is to be administered, and then administering an effective concentration of capsaicin to the joint. The anesthesia can be provided directly to the site, or at remote site that causes anesthesia at the site where the capsaicin is to be administered. For example, epidural regional anesthesia can be provided to patients to which the capsaicin is to be administered at a site located from the waist down. By pretreating the site with the anesthetic, a significantly higher concentration of capsaicin can be used. Effective concentrations of capsaicin or analogues thereof range from between 0.01 and 10% by weight, preferably between 1 and 7.5% by weight, and more preferably, about 5% by weight. This provides for greater and more prolonged pain relief, for periods of time ranging from one week to several weeks. In some cases the pain relief may be more sustained because the disease that underlies the pain may improve due to a variety of factors including enhancement of physical therapy due to less pain in the soft tissues which may foster enhanced mobilization of soft tissues, tendons, and joints.

A muscular therapy treatment apparatus for patient self-treatment, and a method for its use, in applying concentrated pressure to deeply positioned non-palpable muscles underlying other muscle tissue in the hip area of a patient. The apparatus comprises a rigid planar base support and a treatment member upwardly depending from the central portion of the base support. The distal end of the treatment member has a sharp beveled edge for applying pressure to the deeply positioned muscles in a maximum range of sixty to one hundred pounds of pressure, or more, to lengthen them and thereby provide treated patients with relief from muscular tension and pain which had been a result of excess contraction in those muscles. In the preferred embodiment it is contemplated for the distal end of the treatment member to be removably attached so that sharp edges of differing widths and length can be used for different treatment needs.

FIELD: medicine, pharmacy, peptides. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to peptide that is a derivative of prosaposin comprising from 14 to 50 amino acids and including the following sequence: Thr-Xaa-Leu-Ile-Asp-Asn-Ala-Thr-Glu-Glu-Ile-Leu-Tyr. Invention relates also to pharmaceutical composition used for therapy of nervous or demyelinizing nervous tissue diseases and comprising indicated peptides. Invention describes also method for neuropathic pain relief in patient, method for stimulation of neuritis growth, inhibition of neurons death, stimulation of myelinization and inhibition of demyelinization of neurons and also method for inhibition of sensitive or motor neuropathy including administration of prosaposin active fragment. Claimed peptides can be used for stimulation of neurites growth, inhibition of nervous system cells death, stimulation of myelinization and inhibition of demyelinization. EFFECT: valuable medicinal properties of peptides.

Application of capsaicin (or a capsaicin analog) in a concentration from about 5% to about 10% by weight has been discovered to be an extremely effective therapy for treating neuropathic pain. In the practice of the present invention, a regional anesthetic, preferably by means of a somatic or neuraxial block, is administered to the affected area to minimize the expected side effects from them subsequent capsaicin application. Using the protocols described, patients with previously resistant neuropathic pain have experienced pain relief for periods of two to seven weeks.