He put it on his knees before a Saturday in the garage. Six hours later he realised he'd forgotten about them.
He put it on his knees before a Saturday in the garage. Six hours later he realised he'd forgotten about them.
Tony rubbed it into his knees at seven on a Saturday morning and went out to the garage. He wasn't expecting much. Six hours later he was packing up his woodworking tools and realised he'd been on his feet all day without once thinking about his joints.
"I actually forgot I'd put it on. Usually by lunchtime I'm taking breaks, sitting down, you know the drill. But that day I just kept working. It kept working for ages, right through till dinner time."
He's 62, a retired builder, and by his own account old school. "I figured joint issues were just part of getting older. You adapt, you manage, you get on with it." For months that had meant sitting work instead of standing work, more breaks, and thinking about selling the bigger machines.
The bottle on the workbench
His daughter left it there after a visit from Auckland. A physiotherapist friend of hers had been hearing good things from clients. "She said, 'Dad, just try it. It's natural, it's made here in Canterbury, what have you got to lose?'"
It absorbed quickly, unlike the greasy balms he'd tried. The peppermint was there but didn't "announce to the whole neighbourhood that you're using joint cream". What got him was how long it lasted. "I've tried creams that work for an hour, maybe two if you're lucky. This one just kept going. I applied it at 7am, and by 3pm I was still moving around the workshop like I was 40 again."
Then he tested it properly
The next Saturday he put it on before the Port Hills walk with his group, a 10-kilometre loop he'd been thinking of dropping because of the downhills. "Normally I'd be struggling on the downhill sections, really taking my time. But I kept up with the group the whole way. Even overtook a few of them on the final stretch."
Within a month, six of the group were using it. "We joke that we're the fan club now."
What he'd rubbed in
The cream was Koru FX, made in Christchurch from 16 natural oils. It works in three stages rather than one: black pepper and nutmeg open the surface vessels so the rest gets through the skin, peppermint, eucalyptus and mānuka cool over-excited nerves fast, then antioxidants such as calendula and chamomile settle in for hours. That last stage is the part Tony noticed. The cooling passes; the comfort stays.
How the cream works
Deep absorption
Black pepper, nutmeg and rosemary widen the surface vessels so the nutrients pass through the skin.
Fast-acting comfort
Peppermint, eucalyptus and mānuka bring a rapid cooling to over-excited nerve endings.
Long-lasting support
Antioxidants such as calendula and chamomile follow, for hours of comfort.
Koru FX is made in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 16 natural oils.
Three months on
He's building a playhouse for the grandchildren, hours of kneeling and lifting. His brother in Timaru, "even more sceptical than me", watched him take the front steps at a run and ordered three bottles. "Look, I'm not saying it's magic. But when something keeps working for hours and hours, when it lets you do what you love without constantly thinking about your joints, well, that's pretty close to magic in my book."
Koru FX is in community pharmacies such as Life and Unichem, or order online here with a 60-day money-back guarantee. The team in Christchurch is on 0800 99 99 80.
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