Pain Relief: DMSO’s Rise in Medicine

With so many significant contributions to research, healthcare and industry, DMSO’s history is long and rich. When it comes to the medical research specifically, the turning point came around the 1970s, when DMSO started gaining traction as a topical pain-numbing and anti-inflammatory agent, with many patients reporting rapid pain relief and reduced swelling, prompting further investigation into its mechanisms. Several studies revealed that it could even scavenge free radicals, reducing oxidative stress in tissues. Around the world, athletes and patients with chronic pain conditions began using it to alleviate joint pain, sprains, and even burns. 

But how does DMSO do all this on its own? In this article, we learn more about DMSO’s pain relief properties specifically, and if you follow along to our next article "Dual-Healing by DMSO: antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties", we dive deeper into both the anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects that also support in the pain relief process. 

The road to Pain Relief by DMSO: 

Unlike traditional painkillers, which often require ingestion by eating or drinking to travel through the blood stream to different targets across the body, DMSO works locally and rapidly, sometimes providing relief within minutes to the specific area where it's applied. DMSO does this in a very unique, intriguing but straightforward way - let's walk through it step by step to understand the nuances of DMSO's action for pain relief: 

• Wherever it's applied, DMSO moves through the skin to reach the nerve layer underneath and interacting with nerve cells directly, without needing to travel through the blood stream to reach the intended area.

Note: DMSO's ability to migrate through the skin layer is particularly fascinating, and we share all about it in our article "Transdermal Magic: DMSO’s Pathway through the Skin". We also discuss important precautions when DMSO comes in contact with the skin, where purity becomes extremely critical to avoid any contaminants being shuttled along with DMSO. This is why at VitalFlow, USP-Grade DMSO is maintained at the 99.99% purity in all products. 

• Once DMSO reaches the nerve cells, it buries itself in the cell membrane using those same properties that allow it to travel easily through the skin. 
• DMSO’s presence in the membrane alters its fluidity slightly, and dampens the ability of receptors and channels on the membrane to receive and transmit signals into the cell.
• This stabilizes the nerves, making them less likely to fire pain signals to the central nervous system.
• At the same time, DMSO has the ability to scavenge free radicals and lower inflammation which in turn can improve blood flow and reduce the release of pain-causing signals in that area, which we discuss in detail in a focused article, "Dual-Healing by DMSO: antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties"

So combined with its direct action on nerve cells, DMSO’s works as a triple threat for pain signaling, making it show up again and again in research as an effective pain relieving agent. 

The catch: Precautions from DMSO Research

Despite its promise, DMSO faced regulatory hurdles. The FDA initially restricted its medical use due to concerns over purity and minor side effects such as slight odor. This is especially because of DMSO’s ability to transport OTHER chemicals under the skin with it, which could obviously be useful for medical and research purposes, but can be harmful if those chemicals are contaminants from the production process. This is why VitalFlow strictly offers USP-grade DMSO in its product line - we do everything we can to ensure that the production, transportation and packaging process of DMSO does not introduce any contaminants, and maintains DMSO at 99.99% purity.