I’m a devotee of pickup basketball. I play three lunchtimes a week, often with players half my age. That would be fine if they were teenagers. But these are guys in their mid-20s, which makes me”sore.
I’m also a devotee of Epsom salt in hot baths to soothe aching muscles, which makes me”misguided?
“I don’t feel there’s good scientific evidence that Epsom salts work,” said Dr. Michael Miller, Medical Director of St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine. “I don’t recommend them.”
What are Epsom salts?
Epsom salts ““ more precisely, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate — owes the name to origins in Epsom, England, in Shakespearean times. It has long been a popular folk remedy for muscle aches and joint pain.
According to the Epsom Salt Council ““ yes, there’s an Epsom Salt Council ““ “Many athletes use Epsom salt as a natural remedy to help their bodies recover faster.”
How much should I use?
For sore muscles, the ESC recommends adding two cups of Epsom salt to water in a standard-sized tub and soaking for at least 12 minutes. The ESC notes that the body absorbs magnesium and sulfate through the skin, that magnesium regulates the activity of more than 300 body enzymes, and that a majority of Americans are magnesium deficient.
But left unexplained is exactly how Epsom salt alleviates aches.
More bad news for Epsom salt devotees
Paul Ingraham, publisher of the web site PainScience.com, wrote that while there is considerable research supporting other medical uses of Epsom salt, “My search for scientific evidence concerning Epsom salt baths was disappointing.”
“I was unable to find even a single scientific paper studying their effect on body pain,” Ingraham wrote. “Folk remedies are often generally neglected by researchers, but not usually so completely.”
Why do I feel better?
So back to the original premise: How is it that a hot salt bath seems to provide relief to a washed-up basketball player like me?
“I think if you were to sit in a very hot bath and burn a candle that was scented, you might have the same benefit,” said Stacey McConnell, a St. Elizabeth Healthcare physical therapist.
“In other words, it is hard to say it is the salt bath when the hot bath itself, and moving your legs and gently stretching in the bath, is probably the reason for the relief. The smell of the salts can be relaxing as well.”
I asked McConnell if adding salts had a psychological benefit.
“Sure, I think there is some psychological component, and that is hard to quantify,” he said. “Suffice it to say we are all very physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual, so it can be difficult to separate it all out.”
