Tendon Injury

[disgruntled]

hey... sorry i have not been too active lately, i am finding it hard to type, let alone anything else because i pulled a tendon in my wrist and have tendonitis..... which sucks!

i was given this cream to put on the injured area that is actually used for horses not humans.... apparently a lot of body builders use it.... and i was wondering if anyone here has hear of it... first i was told to put on "trainer's choice liniment gel" then the horse stuff "DMSO".... i have to use it sparsly in moderation because my skin is really sensitive, but i have found it helps. have you heard of this stuff? apparently the DMSO is suppose to make what ever you apply right before sink into the skin..... i was told that instead of the gel i could also crush up an anti-inflamitory and put that on my skin with the DMSO to really bring down the swelling (so far the pain has been reduced, but not the swelling)... i am a little sckeptical of how DMSO works, so i was hoping some of you might know more about it.

thanks

[sirdarksol]

Ummm...
I don't want to alarm you too much, but this is something you really should talk to your doctor about.
DMSO does, indeed, carry pretty much anything through the skin, including any dirt/dust on the skin. It's an amazing substance because of this.
It is considered a carcinogenic substance, either due to its own properties or due to the fact that it carries little bits of dirt into your body.
My information is around ten years old, from when my wife was in bio-chemistry, but I doubt that the chemical will have changed.

I'm guessing that the reason that it's mostly used on horses is because of the potential danger of DMSO.
I did a quick search, and found the MSDS for the stuff. It's not considered horribly toxic, but the MSDS (material safety data sheet, the industry standard that explains information about the chemical, including cleanup, contact, etc...) does call it "harmful" and does not cover the carcinogenic properties.
Be very, very careful with what you put on your wrist prior to treatment. I would scrub with a freshly cleaned washcloth and no soap, just water as hot as you can stand. Dry the arm, let the rest of it evaporate, then put the stuff on.

[disgruntled]

yeah i knew that it took anything into the skin, which is why i have been careful with it. interesting to know that it does work.... i don't really understand the science behind it so i was sckeptical