I get this question all the time. "Should I go home and soak in an Epsom salt bath?" My answer? Sure, but it's probably not genuinely doing anything truly helpful. For as long as I can remember and long before that, people have been anecdotally using Epsom salt baths for every ache and pain known to mankind (and womankind too). But, here is the thing..........there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that it works.....none!
Lets take a closer look at our salty friend. The salt got its' namesake from a saline spring at Epsom in Surrey England. Although it's called a "salt" it's not truly a salt. It is magnesium and sulfate. It has all sorts of uses from gardening (fertilizer), exfoliation, and even has been used as a laxative (really works). But, most people soak in it as the age ole cure for achy muscles and joints. We know that magnesium plays a number of roles in the body including regulating enzymes, reducing inflammation, and helping muscle and nerve function. The sulfate portion is supposed help improve the absorption of nutrients, and flush toxins. But does it truly work?? In all the studies in all the countries throughout the world there has been only one study (1!!) with any sort of indication that yes, magnesium sulfate can in fact soak through the skin into our system. That study was done by Dr. Rosemary Waring in 2006. The actual research has never been published, so that should tell you something about the validity of the research. Our skin is there to form a protective barrier, and in fact is waterproof. The skin has no ability to differentiate foreign liquids . It can not choose to keep out bad liquids (Can you get drunk by soaking in alcohol?? You can try, but alas...you will fail), but yet designate an open entrance to such liquids as Epsom infused water. What is amazing is that while the skin is completely waterproof from the outside, the body CAN let water out of the skin from the inside through sweat. So what actually happens when you soak in an Epsom salt bath? Why does it seem to help so many people? The answer probably has a couple of components. The 1st being a placebo effect. If everyone tells you it works, then by golly dam the evidence it works (this was used to great affect during WWII when wounded soldiers were given saline injections after morphine ran out. It worked on 40% of patients!). The 2nd reason, is that bathing in a warm bath itself relaxes muscles and achy joints. Let's be honest who feels awful after getting out of a sudsy, warm, candlelit bath (With Adele......er I mean Lynryrd Skynyrd playing in the background.) So, what does this all add up to? It adds up to keep doing what you are doing. If you enjoy Epsom salt baths, continue to enjoy them. There is no research that they are doing you any harm, and at a cost of $5 for a whole bag it is certainly cost efficient. Just know that in actuality you are probably not doing much more than if you were floating in the ocean on a hot August day. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Thanks for reading,
Dr. Wiskind DC, CCSP
Vitality Sports Chiropractic
Lets take a closer look at our salty friend. The salt got its' namesake from a saline spring at Epsom in Surrey England. Although it's called a "salt" it's not truly a salt. It is magnesium and sulfate. It has all sorts of uses from gardening (fertilizer), exfoliation, and even has been used as a laxative (really works). But, most people soak in it as the age ole cure for achy muscles and joints. We know that magnesium plays a number of roles in the body including regulating enzymes, reducing inflammation, and helping muscle and nerve function. The sulfate portion is supposed help improve the absorption of nutrients, and flush toxins. But does it truly work?? In all the studies in all the countries throughout the world there has been only one study (1!!) with any sort of indication that yes, magnesium sulfate can in fact soak through the skin into our system. That study was done by Dr. Rosemary Waring in 2006. The actual research has never been published, so that should tell you something about the validity of the research. Our skin is there to form a protective barrier, and in fact is waterproof. The skin has no ability to differentiate foreign liquids . It can not choose to keep out bad liquids (Can you get drunk by soaking in alcohol?? You can try, but alas...you will fail), but yet designate an open entrance to such liquids as Epsom infused water. What is amazing is that while the skin is completely waterproof from the outside, the body CAN let water out of the skin from the inside through sweat. So what actually happens when you soak in an Epsom salt bath? Why does it seem to help so many people? The answer probably has a couple of components. The 1st being a placebo effect. If everyone tells you it works, then by golly dam the evidence it works (this was used to great affect during WWII when wounded soldiers were given saline injections after morphine ran out. It worked on 40% of patients!). The 2nd reason, is that bathing in a warm bath itself relaxes muscles and achy joints. Let's be honest who feels awful after getting out of a sudsy, warm, candlelit bath (With Adele......er I mean Lynryrd Skynyrd playing in the background.) So, what does this all add up to? It adds up to keep doing what you are doing. If you enjoy Epsom salt baths, continue to enjoy them. There is no research that they are doing you any harm, and at a cost of $5 for a whole bag it is certainly cost efficient. Just know that in actuality you are probably not doing much more than if you were floating in the ocean on a hot August day. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Thanks for reading,
Dr. Wiskind DC, CCSP
Vitality Sports Chiropractic
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