Can an Epsom salts bath help relieve CRPS symptoms?

The medicinal use of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) dates back to the seventeenth century. Nevertheless, it surprised me when a client, Ollie, informed me that an Epsom salts bath was one of the few ways he could relieve his CRPS symptoms, specifically reducing both inflammation and pain. He also said it was the only method he had discovered to calm a pain flare.

Investigating further, I found that pain relief is just one of many traditional uses. While no clinical studies have proven their benefits, Epsom salts are still widely recommended as a complementary therapy, mainly for musculoskeletal conditions.

Intravenous magnesium for CRPS

One thing that struck me was the chemical makeup of Epsom salts, as there are conflicting studies on the benefit (or otherwise) of intravenous magnesium as a treatment for CRPS Type 1. Of course, soaking in a bath is not the same as introducing a substance into your body through a needle. However, the conventional belief was that dissolving Epsom salts in your bath allows their absorption into the body through your skin. However, the most recent scientific paper I could find on the subject is, at best, sceptical of this transdermal absorption idea.

Does it really matter?

But ultimately, does the science really matter? If you suffer from CRPS, you want pain relief by whatever method works for you, irrespective of what the people in white coats say! Indeed, as a CRPS sufferer, you’ll know that the more significant issue with Ollie’s method is the hurdle of actually taking a bath. Among bathing considerations with CRPS are:

• protecting your limb from contact with the bath;
• ensuring the correct water temperature; and
• the problem of drying your limb.

Epsom salts for CRPS

Subject to all of that, if you’d still like to give it a go, Ollie says he adds around 1½ lbs of Epsom salts to a bath “and sometimes a bit more”. Don’t worry, Epsom salts are relatively inexpensive, particularly if bought in bulk.