DMSO: healer or killer?

Dancers in rehearsal III. Photographer: me

This is a different post as I am trying to find out more about DMSO and its medicinal use, thus I would welcome opinions and the sharing of information from anyone that has had any experience of it.
Briefly, I developed a bone spur as a result of wearing tight shoes. The pain has gone but the bone spur is still there, on the top surface of my foot. I wanted to find a way to get rid of it without having recourse to surgery. I did some research and found out about the DMSO gel. It seems that it helps in getting rid of bone spurs. I ordered it from Amazon and thought no more about it. Then I got the gel, odourless and colourless. But I was intrigued to read that it was to be used only as a solvent and it should not come into contact with the skin. Then of course I realised why. The gel came from the US and  FDA has not approved the human use of DMSO. But veterinarians use it for the treatment of horse injuries and unofficially DMSO gel is the "secret" remedy used by athletes in case of sprains and various muscle pains.
I was very torn and did not know what to do. I decided to try it on the bone spur. I am still alive, I dont smell of garlic and after three days of topical application the bone spur seems to have shrunk in size. It just feels different when I touch it. So far so good.

Photographer: DG

Then two days ago while rehearsing in the studio  I pulled my hamstring.  Nothing major really, I have had this before. I treated the injury the usual way and decided to get some rest.  But the pain has not gone and today I had to forego a technique class because I am rehearsing tomorrow and have to allow my injury to heal.

I felt tempted to use DMSO gel on my thigh where the pain is more acute but after reading all the negative reports I am not sure. Should I or should I not? DMSO supporters claim that the FDA is biased and that one of the problems - according to Maya Muir, writing in support of DMSO use - is that "no company could acquire an exclusive patent for DMSO, a major consideration when the clinical testing required to win FDA approval for a drug routinely runs into millions of dollars.". DMSO is however approved for use in Canada and Europe: in Europe, write McKim and Strub "there are several topical products in which DMSO acts as an excipient. One of these uses an antiviral (idoxuridine) in the treatment of herpes zoster...In Germany, DMSO was approved on an over-the-counter basis for sports-related injuries as Dolicur (Schering AG) and provisions exist in the Russian republics that allow for DMSO selfmedication".

If my pain persists I will try DMSO, at my peril. But I would like to hear from people that have used it.

Photographer: David Nuttall

(All photos modelled by Alex B unless otherwise stated)