Do muscle mineral soaks work?

January 19, 2009 7:34 PM

Do muscle mineral soaks really work? If so, how?

I pulled a muscle in my calf and it hurts like hell. I'm poping Tylenol but I don't like to do that too frequently because it says not to (right there on the bottle). It occurs to me that I've tried mineral muscle soaks in the past (you know the ones I'm talking about). I liked them well enough, but wouldn't soaking in warm water amount to the same thing, as far as the sore muscle is concerned?

I can't find any plausible explanation for why they're helping. I tried Googling around but most results are either marketing results or explanations from folks who are very enthusiastic about them, but can't explain how they work. Isn't the heat from the water in the tub doing most of the soothing? Salts can't enter my body, I'm not a turkey being brined!

I know you're not my doctor, I'll see my doctor if the pain increases or becomes a real problem. I'm just wondering if the pain is making me prone to buying something that's bogus.

posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome to health & fitness (13 comments total)

Tylenol is a good pain reliever but for muscle pain I have good results from ibuprofen.

Sorry, this reply isn't about mineral soaks but it might help you feel better if you decide to go a different pain reliever route.
posted by altcountryman at 7:46 PM on January 19 [1 favorite]

You definitely do not want to overdose on Tylenol. Overdose destroys the liver, and the lethal dose isn't all that high.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:10 PM on January 19 [2 favorites]

About the only mechanism I can think of would be that addition of salts to the bathwater would increase the thermal mass per unit volume, which would mean that heat transmission to your leg would be improved.

But I doubt it's a very significant effect. Most likely this is yet another case of placebo effect.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:12 PM on January 19 [1 favorite]

They are usually heavily scented, aren't they? I would suppose it is actually 'aromatherapy' at work if anything. Plus the fact you're in a nice warm bath as you are already well aware. You would most likely get the same effect from burning scented candles or diffusing essential oils while you take the bath.
posted by evil_esto at 8:18 PM on January 19 [1 favorite]

Epsom salts draws inflammation and other things (like splinters, pus, broken off fish spines, tick heads etc) out. I do not know the mechanics but I can vouch for the effectiveness. 20 minutes twice a day is all you need.
posted by fshgrl at 8:19 PM on January 19

btw, I don't think you'd want to soak your entire body in it, just the affected part.
posted by fshgrl at 8:21 PM on January 19

If the water is sufficiently salty, that prevents your body from absorbing it (and getting all prune-y). Not sure how that affects the muscles, but it does react differently to your body than pure/fresh water.
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 8:23 PM on January 19

Hmm. I don't know much about the science about it, but here's some info from the (admittedly biased) Epsom Salt Council. It looks like the chemicals in epsom salts specifically will help to reduce inflammation and form joint proteins. Personally, I can say for sure that epsom salt soaks have worked really well for me after a day of pushing myself too hard at yoga.
posted by brina at 8:57 PM on January 19

I practice yoga to a degree where it's nearly unhealthy (9/10 days, sometimes 2x/day). I recently began soaking myself in these Masada Joint and Muscle bath salts (masada-spa.com) for about an hour before class and the difference is nearly like night and day.
posted by uhom at 9:11 PM on January 19

I've always thought that the magnesium in epsom salts works as a muscle relaxant, but in looking for a source for that I found this response, which says it's unlikely that enough magnesium would be absorbed to make any difference.
posted by needs more cowbell at 9:29 PM on January 19

After days of trekking all over the Middle East I arrived at the Dead Sea, very sore and tired.

After an hour or two of soaking, it was amazing. All of my muscle soreness went away.

I am a believer in salt and mineral soaks. Now, the Dead Sea is extremely concentrated, but you can replicate results with Epsom salts.

Epsom salts draw swelling away. Incidentially, when I was pre-eclamptic a few months ago in my pregnancy--in danger of having seizures--I was put on magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) intravenously. It worked the same way in my body, by drawing the fluid off my brain to prevent a seizure.
posted by FergieBelle at 11:18 AM on January 20

Oh come on, I also want to know this. Where are all the science types who can tell us this is all in our heads or explain it!!!

Great question, joseph conrad is fully awesome.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:57 PM on January 20

It might be osmosis- fluids moving from a less salty environment to a more salty one. Maybe.
posted by fshgrl at 7:53 PM on January 20