Got Magnesium?
Turns out that might be a great slogan for massage therapists – if they look both ways and proceed with caution.
Magnesium as a topical aid, and along with ingested and intravenous magnesium, has been used for a very long time in the treatment of muscular cramps and spasms.
Magnesium is the other side of the calcium formula. The movement of calcium ions out of a cell make muscles contract, while magnesium ions make muscle fibers relax. For people in the relax biz, magnesium could come in very handy.
And many folks seeking a massage are likely deficient in magnesium, possibly because we don’t eat enough of the sources – green leafy veggies, beans and bananas.
Should you add magnesium to a massage?
Well, let’s look at what’s out there.
Epsom salt soaks are our most traditional way of introducing topical magnesium. Many therapists make their own retail packages for client to buy or take home after a massage. A few drops of lavender or eucalyptus added to the salts and an organza bag, and the massage therapist has a take-home item for you.
But how many times do you see clients who cannot physically get in or out of a bathtub? Or don’t have a bathtub?
Epsom salt compresses are the next step down – but we all know compliance with this advice may well be zero. What client wants to wrangle wet and dry towels and plastic sheets?
Epsom salt lotions now readily available in most drugstores are another good solution. These do, however, use some pretty synthetic petrochemicals to get the hardy Epsom salts to stay in solution. Some clients don’t want that.
Oh dear, leave it to the healthy marketplace to find solutions.
Now when I head off to the vitamin health food store there’s a little group of magnesium topicals at the ready. And here’s the rub. Some don’t feel real good when applied to the skin.
My favorite one is magnesium oil spray, which is magnesium chloride. Yup, a salt. After a nice vigorous deep tissue massage on my professional test body, my spouse, I added a spritz to a tight shoulder. Immediately producing a stinging feeling described to me as rubbing salt on a wound. Run for the wet towels.
I like to use the magnesium oil spray on myself right after the shower. I tell clients to avoid it after shaving, to avoid the ouch factor.
After that experience with my professional test body I have never sprayed magnesium oil on an area post massage. I notice the makers were suggesting it as a massage oil additive, but after my experience with my unhappy test body, I’m not putting it on freshly massaged skin anytime soon.
Other forms of magnesium abound. I don’t go there with magnesium pills or drinks, largely because that’s not what I do. I massage, and telling someone to take something internally seems a bit out of my expertise area.
But for people who might need it for night cramps or diet deficiency I let them know it is out there, and they need to read and follow directions. Magnesium isn’t good for weak kidneys and in large amounts ingested magnesium is a super-dooper laxative!
Adding Magnesium to Massage
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