The pain-killing effect of "tubigrip" cylindrical elasticated bandages

Over many years, and confirmed within my family, I have noticed that a "tubigrip" cylindrical elasticated bandage can often reduce, or even eliminate, pain in a limb. 

This is worth revisiting for recent readers. 

For instance; yesterday I had a very severe continuous pain in my knee due to osteoarthritis (maybe a microfracture of an osteophyte, or something nasty along the joint line) - pain with a "burning" quality, and bad enough that I could not sleep nor find a comfortable position. 

The pain did not respond to pain-killing medications. 

But when I applied a tuboigrip bandage, the pain immediately receded to the point I could forget about it, and it ceased to be a problem. 

Over the years I (and my kids too) have sometimes found a similar effect for ankles, elbows and wrists. A cylindrical elasticated bandage of the correct length and diameter - firm but not tight - sometimes provides a very quick and worthwhile analgesic effect. 

It doesn't always work; but when it does work - then that's great! And yesterday's was the most severe pain that has responded to the tubigrip treatment.  

How it might work, I don't know. 

My best (tentative) guess is by some variant of the gating effect - by which stimulation of the fast-transmitting superficial touch receptors by the bandage, may block the reception of slower transmitting pain fibres; somewhat like immediately rubbing a bump helps to diminish the pain, when it belatedly arrives. 

Still, I pass on the tip as perhaps useful, and unlikely to do harm  -so long as the bandage is not too tight, and does not block venous return and cause distal swelling of the limb.