My muscles have been very achy lately and the internet tells me to do bath soaks with Epsom salts. I understand that warm water helps to relax muscles, but how does salt in the bath help? Do our bodies actually absorb Epsom salt through the skin to a degree that it actually makes a difference, or is it more a relaxing/scent/placebo? What mechanism is happening that the Epsom salts contribute to?
Similar vein: baking soda, magnesium, etc added to baths – do they actually help? What works best?
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I would guess it increases the density of the water, making you more bouyant, so you feel more floaty.
It might also allow the water to stay hotter longer, like when you add salt to your pasta water.
I’m just basing this on my experience of salty floaty chill time.
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