MSM: Pain Relief for Achy Joints?

With these considerations, it's no wonder so many conventional and alternative treatments for arthritis exist. Each has its merits and drawbacks, and some, like glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), may provide raw materials the body needs in order to make cartilage in the first place.

MSM is an organic compound used with increasing frequency to relieve the joint and bone pain of arthritis. It's relatively new on the list of available painkillers, so not much is understood about how it works. Two well-designed, albeit preliminary, studies suggest, however, that MSM relieves arthritis pain at least as well as conventional over-the-counter NSAIDs (non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen (Advil, etc.).

MSM is the end product of an organic process that begins when microscopic plankton release sulfur compounds into the ocean. These compounds are converted to DMS, an unstable sulfur gas that rises into the atmosphere, where it reacts with ozone and ultraviolet sunlight to make DMSO and DMSO2 (also known as MSM).

Through rain, MSM winds up in soil, and as a result is present in most foods, especially fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods—but to varying degrees. Pollution, overfarming, irrigation, and deforestation influence soil MSM content. Cooking and food processing destroy MSM.

The sulfur that both DMSO and MSM contain is of increasing interest to medical researchers. As the eighth most abundant element in all living organisms, sulfur is found in more than 150 types of bodily compounds, from enzymes and tissues to hormones and antioxidants. It's also a component of structural protein, the type found in hair, skin, and joints. Sulfur also occurs in connective tissue, in a key structural component called collagen. Collagen helps form cartilage, and because people with arthritis tend to lack the basic building blocks of cartilage, natural approaches to the treatment of arthritis focus on potential donors, such as glucosamine, which works largely through its sulfur content.

MSM may be proven in future studies to be as effective a donor as glucosamine by virtue of the sulfur it yields in the body, but other mechanisms of action will likely be identified. MSM relieves pain quickly—too quickly to result from collagen changes alone. In addition, research conducted by MSM expert Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., suggests that MSM actually blocks pain signals from traveling along a network of C fibers from the site of damaged tissue to the brain. MSM also appears to reduce inflammation, enhance blood flow, and reduce painful muscle spasms.

As for DMSO, tests early on showed that it reduced the inflammation of arthritis and was potentially useful in a number of other conditions. But DMSO, in its highly-purified, supplement form, causes breath odor (a "garlicky" smell). In some users, headaches, dizziness, and skin irritation also resulted. In comparison, MSM hasn't caused these types of side effects, and it's odorless.

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