When getting through a chronic pain flare up (or really, after a tough day at the gym… hello leg day!) It is really important to include various activities into your routine, such as stretching, avoiding inflammatory foods, and making sure to use every pain relief/management tool at your disposal to help keep your irritation at a minimum and allow your body to slowly get back on top of things. In addition to using some of my favorite pain management tools (Part 1 and Part 2), I have recently fallen in love with soaking, for both pain and stress relief!
First of all – Comfort!
Before committing to soaking for a long period of time, you may want to invest in a bath pillow. I was able to get mine for just $10 at Walmart, and it gets the job done, but you can use a folded up towel behind your head as well. The benefits to the pillows are that you can easily wring them out and they dry quickly, or there are versions that are waterproof. Keep in mind, not all tubs have a nice ledge at the back of the tub, mine is pretty much straight up from the lip, which puts my neck at an awkward angle. The pillow helps a bit but I have had my eye on this Luxurious Bath Pillow
Epsom Salts
I was initially not a huge fan of the idea of using epsom salts in my bath… I didn’t see how it was really any different than a regular soak, but have really started to appreciate their benefits! Epsom salts are full of magnesium, a natural muscle relaxer, which you gently absorb during the bath. The epsom salts also assist in using essential oils in your baths. Typically, although it still smells nice, adding essential oils right to water results in just having the oils float on the surface. By using both epsom salt AND essential oils, it helps the oils to distribute more evenly through the water and thus be better absorbed during your bath.
Epsom salt “recipes”
I use the word recipe loosely here, but there are a lot of types of epsom salt! Many of these have already been infused with oils, which is how they get their lovely smells, and it also can have different aromatherapy and physical results. My local grocer has a “epsom salt bar” from Zum & Go where you can actually scoop your own salts and buy them by weight, which I love! Some of my favorite combos are:
Aches & Pains
- 1 part menthol
- 1 part eucalyptus
- 1 part peppermint
- 1 part rosemary
Deep Sleep
- 1 part frankincense
- 1 part jasmine
- 1 part geranium
- 1 part sandalwood
Essential Oil Aromatherapy
If creating your own blend of epsom salts is getting a little too fancy for you, Bath and Bodyworks has made it extremely easy to enjoy your soaks! I am obsessed with their new line of lotions and body wash, each oriented for the type of experience you want. You can add normal epsom salt and this foam bath and still experience the benefit from the salt and the aromatherapy of the oils with minimal effort (and get all of the fun bubbles too!). Then, slather yourself with the lotion once you are done with your soak!
Hi! I'm Alyce. 
