Methyl salicylate, much like aspirin (ASS to the Germans) is an analgesic drug.
It's structurally quite similar to aspirin, but less polar and doesn't ionize in water. This affords it some vapor pressure (it smells of wintergreen, and is actually used as a flavoring agent in low concentration!).
However, it's quite toxic, and it is only used as an analgesic in creams (as far as I know). Stuff like Ben-Gay. Earlier this year, a young athlete actually absorbed a lethal dose from topical methyl salicylate cream.
It looks like she was drastically overusing the stuff. Creams may seem like "lesser medicines," but you have quite a bit of surface area through which to absorb a drug. Safety in high school athletes is a big problem - weight loss in wrestlers is one of the most horrifying, since often, they're just dehydrating themselves and doing cardio like crazy.
Methyl salicylate - minty but potentially deadly!
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This is the active ingredient in creams like "Deep Heat", and in the oily, yellow "boxing liniment" you can buy in Thailand.
I've noticed the burining sensation intensifies when you wet the area to which it's been applied (or if you applied it before exercise, when you start sweating).