Lidocaine strips

40 years ago I dislocated a couple of fingers playing flag football. about a year ago the joints started hurting - arthritis had started to set in. It was getting so bad that I began using my other hand to hold knives when I cut up veggies while making dinner. My wife had some 5% lidocaine patches left over from an injury, so I thought I would try them. Every night I cut strips and wrap them around the three joints in my fingers that hurt. I'm thankful to say that after a month of doing this, my hand feels great. I can do everything I want including my pruning. Wonder if anyone else has tried this.