I bashed a rib a few years back.  Toughed it out for about 10 days, no progress so went in to get it checked.  Yep, bruised and not even cracked.  Doc prescribed two solutions - a painkiller and an analgesic patch.  He gave me a couple of sample patches.  Good move it turned out.  The patch sounded really great - target the meds at the exact site. However. They were horribly, horribly spendy.  Over $300 a box of 12.  I read the patient lit sheet, an amazingly honest data sheet of the trials.  Turns out to be a few percent better than a placebo.  The two samples did little and would not stick.  The pharmacy would not break a box.  I passed.  The generic, low cost painkiller did the job in three days.  Had I filled the patch prescription my insurance would have laid out 300 bucks for no effect.  We would all pay.  Read the labels,  ask questions.