I also posted this on the home remedies forum but not knowing if you would be going back to that one I decided to post it here as well.

I've been very curious about DMSO for a long time - the only way I know of it at all was because about 20 years ago I had an injury that had me down for about 3 months - I had to go to a physical therapist 3x a week who would put me in traction (very painful) for quite a while each time - it wasn't getting better. I could only lay on my right side and had to be on pain killers all the time - sitting up was so painful it was all I could do to get myself over to and back from the therapist 3x a week. they said I had a pinched nerve from a bone spur in my neck and they were trying to move the bone away from the nerve with the traction. My arm hurt and was also numb all the way down and 2 fingers were numb and the doctor had said I would never fully recover and that my fingers would probably always be numb and my back behind my shoulder blade was so painful if anything touched it it was excruciating which is why I couldn't even lie on my back. This was a very sweet Mexican lady and I had never seen her before. I always had ice on my neck to help with the pain and they always put an ice pack on my back after the traction. I was told never to put heat on it. The first thing she did was put some heat on it. She said it was ok since I had had the injury for a long time now and it didn't matter - then she gave me a massage and she was able to do it without hurting me. She said that she was going to use a little bit of this stuff DMSO because she said it is not a bone spur at all - She said there is a nerve bundle behind your shoulder blade and it is being squeezed by your muscle there and this is a solvent that will help to relax that muscle. Well I got some immediate relief that day and within a week I was completely recovered and back to work and my fingers were no longer numb - I did pretty intense physical work too.

So that's what I thought it was primarily for - I actually have some roll on stuff but I only used it a couple of times on my feet because I have had pretty bad feet the past few years from Plantar faciitis caused by flat feet. Some other sufferers of this malady recommended it. But when I used it more than 2 days in a row it seemed to cause a headache. It didn't seem to help anyway so I don't use it.

There is another person who has a forum here who says it is really bad stuff.

So I am just curious to know what it really is and what people actually use it for.

Thanks!

awebaby