My Experience with Epsom Salts — Helped My Sciatica Pain and Improved My Tinnitus

My Experience with Epsom Salts

Back pain is a very common condition that most people experience at some time in their life. Like many medical ailments it spans a vast range in severity. From the occasional twitch to a niggling ache or a strain in the back from participating in a certain activity. It can also be brought on by the simplest of things that many of us don't think about such as sitting, standing up or lying down awkwardly and then the unthinkable happens and we experience back pain. Fortunately, the human body is quite resilient, and these symptoms often go away by themselves without too much need for concern.

As one gets older, they may find back pain flares up occasionally and this is certainly true for me. There are a plethora of over-the-counter medications, creams and sprays to help ease the pain. I have my own particular blend of remedies that are not quite an elixir, but thankfully they have served me well over the years and haven't had to visit my GP complaining of back pain.

Some people are not so fortunate and suffer from persistent back pain that requires a more invasive approach in order to get some relief and improve their quality of life. This might involve doing daily exercises to strengthen the back to keep it supple allowing it to move more freely and to have good posture. Taking prescription medications is also an option or visiting a chiropractor or physiotherapist for back pain management. In more severe circumstances surgery may be needed requiring the skills of an orthopaedic physician.

For the last 4 months I have been recovering from persistent back pain that at times was very severe. If it were just isolated to my back, I believe coping with it would have been easier but the addition of sciatic nerve pain made my situation almost untenable to say the least. Anyone that has experienced sciatica will know whereof I speak but this has been my first encounter with it.

I was decorating the external wall of my chalet bungalow using a 12-inch-wide roller, attached to a long telescopic pole. In the process of manoeuvring the roller up, down and diagonally over a wide area of the wall, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my lower back that caused me to stop abruptly. After a few minutes the pain gradually spread into my gluteus muscles commonly known as the butt. It was something I hadn't experienced before and thought, it will soon pass but I was wrong, as it continued. Not wanting to tempt fate, with some difficulty I managed to gather up my tools to go inside.

By late evening the pain hadn't improved by much even though I had taken two Ibuprofen tablets earlier. Something strange and totally new to me was a burning sensation in my hip that was working its way down the back of my left leg where the sciatic nerve is located. It extends into the calf, ankle and foot and is the longest largest nerve in the human body. We have two; one in each leg.

Throughout the night the burning sensation intensified making for a very uncomfortable sleep. By morning it felt like someone had taken a red hot poker and pushed it deep into my thigh until it hit bone, my whole leg was aflame. Trying to walk was immensely difficult. The best I managed was limping across the floor putting most of my weight on my good right leg. At the same time taking special care not to aggravate the stabbing shooting pain going up and down my back and into my leg. I felt completely useless reaching out to the nearest thing for my hands to hold, so I wouldn't stumble and fall flat on my face.

My home became a sanctuary as the pain in my leg and back made it impossible to go out like I regularly do. Deciding to pull out all the stops in case I needed to contact my GP, I returned to my trusted self-help remedies that have often helped me in the past with back pain. Taking Ibuprofen, applying deep heat spray and cream to my back and leg. Using an electric heat pad for muscle aches and back pain. Since sciatica is related to back pain but was something new to me, I thought it best to acquire more knowledge about it.

Over the next few days, I read a lot of information online and learned that the sciatic nerve is a combination of 5 nerves that branch out from the lower spine to form one. At this point it's approximately 1 cm wide. It runs through the hip, buttocks and down the legs and controls movement and sensations in these limbs and the foot. Many things can cause it to become irritated and painful. One of the most common is a slipped disc or herniated disc. A rupture of the disc can occur between the bones of the spine causing it to protrude and pinch the nerves. Pain is often felt in the back, buttocks and legs.

Many of the treatments for sciatica are the same for lower back pain because this is where the source of the problem stems from. Therefore, I continued using my treatments with the hope this would suffice. It can take a month or longer to see sustained improvement. Like back pain, sciatica can become an ongoing problem requiring prescription medication to help manage the condition. It began to dawn on me, the unrelenting burning sensation from the top of my hip travelling all the way down deep into the bone of my left leg, could be something far more serious than I originally thought. The fact that I have an underlying back problem that has been managed with self-help for a number of years, and hasn't caused me too many problems until now, reinforced my concerns.

After 5 days resting at home the back pain improved making me feel confident about the future. I was continuing with self-help treatments. The sciatica was an entirely different matter. When sitting the pain eased and would go away completely. Standing or attempting to walk was much more difficult, as the burning sensation throughout the whole leg returned and was excruciatingly painful!

The back had made considerable improvement after 2 weeks, but the sciatica had not. I read that gentle exercise such as walking can help recovery, but this was proving to be incredibly difficult and frustrating. Walking outside was limited to no more than 5- or 10-minute intervals then having to stop, lean up against a wall or sit on a roadside bench to rest my aching burning leg. At times I felt totally exhausted with the amount of effort it took to simply walk. This continued for quite some time and serious doubts as to whether I'll be able to walk properly again began to worry me.

I am an optimist and believe this helped me cope when my tinnitus increased and changed to variable tinnitus in 2008. It took 4 years to habituate for the second time. I had many low points but always managed to find the inner strength and resolve to carry on and not let doubts or negative thinking overwhelm me. I made the decision to see my GP but before doing that, I wanted to have one last try at self-help, so joined 3 back-pain and sciatica forums on the Internet with the hope someone might be able to give me advice.

Joining those groups was a mistake because I was constantly told there is no cure for sciatica. Doctors don't know anything about it and medications have side effects that make a person feel worse. It was pure doom and gloom, which I perceive as a defeatist mentally and a path I refuse to go down.

YouTube was my last resort and am pleased that I went there. I found plenty of useful information on back pain and sciatica. Doctors, physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals often recommend a patient have an Epsom salt bath for back pain and sciatica. Epsom salt is Magnesium sulphate, when person has a bath in it, the Magnesium is absorbed through the skin and is said to promote healing for many health conditions: easing muscle and joint pain, treating skin irritations and can help treat colds and flu. It helps to remove toxins from the body, reduces stress and relaxes the body for better sleep. Some gardeners mix it with soil for plants. Some people take an Epsom salt bath to assist weight loss. It would seem having an Epsom salt bath, can be used to help almost any medical ailment. I wouldn't say that is a panacea but having used it for some time now I am pleased with the results.

All that is required is 2 cups of Epsom salts dissolved a bath of warm to hot water. It is recommended to soak for a least 12 minutes. I believe 30 to 40 minutes is better. There has been a significant reduction in my sciatica pain, to the point that I no longer need to take pain killers. I have returned to walking daily without the need to stop because of pain in my back or leg. I am usually able to sleep throughout the night until morning without being disturbed by my tinnitus. However, the quality of my sleep has improved considerably, and I feel a lot calmer.

Tinnitus

I have fully habituated to tinnitus and only take 2x 0.5 mg Clonazepam tablets, once or twice a month for one or two days, then stop. After two weeks of taking Epsom salt baths, I noticed my tinnitus had reduced further. I recall having to listen for it because it felt so strange not hearing it for long periods of time. I have only taken Clonazepam once in 3 months.

Twenty-six years ago, my ENT doctor told me that he advises all this tinnitus patients to take Magnesium tablets. He said it helps to calm the nerves in the auditory system. A Herbalist I saw who knew a lot about noise induced tinnitus, advised me to take Magnesium tablets for tinnitus. There is plenty of information online about the benefits of Epsom salt.

This post is intended for information purposes only. Please do not consider anything that I have written to be professional medical advice. If you need help with your back, sciatica or tinnitus always talk with your healthcare provider.

Michael

 

This is a very interesting post. Some time ago I posted a link here (sorry can't find it now) to a podcast interview with Clive de Carle. During that interview he discussed many of the old school remedies that for one reason or another seem to have just fallen out of fashion (although I daresay the introduction of allopathic medicine has something to do with this).

He spoke about how commonplace it was years ago to bath in natural mineral water baths as a process of healing. The Victorians referred to it as 'taking the waters', and many of our spa-towns offered public bathing facilities to do just this.

Modern day, and in the absence of a natural water bathing facility, a convenient equivalent Clive said, would be to bath in Epsom salts. The main thing being that a warm bath will ensure the body can properly absorb the minerals through the skin.

I think there's a lot to this. I had been meaning to purchase some Epsom salts and give it a go but completely forgot. Thanks for the reminder.

 

Thanks for the information @UKBloke. Since you live in the UK as I do, something I didn't know Epsom salts was first discovered in Epsom. As you know the town is in the county of Surrey, which is placed between London and Sussex. I was born and bred in London but now live in Brighton, Sussex.

In 1618, Henry Wicker by accident discovered Epsom salts (Magnesium sulphate) there in the water and noticed it had healing properties. People came from all over England to bathe in the water.

Michael

 

So... does anyone have any thoughts on why Magnesium taken this way might induce a positive effect on tinnitus?

Been formulating some theories on this for a while but am interested to hear others' views.

 

26 years ago, my ENT doctor and Herbalist, told me Magnesium helps to calm the nerves in the auditory pathways, and the entire nervous system I suppose. This is the reason Magnesium is particularly good for noise-induced tinnitus.

Michael

 

I suffer badly with anxiety so still nerve related I guess one way or another, and the tinnitus on top doesn't help. So as much as I'm a shower person I'm going to give this a go.

 

Did they mention or suggest a mechanism of action at all?

I've been doing quite a bit research into Georges Lakhovsky, who many years ago used broadband electro-magnetic energy generated with Tesla coils to treat various illnesses. His idea focused on the notion that illness was a result of reduced operating voltages and frequencies of human cells, which he aimed to recharge through the phenomenon of resonance using his "Multiwave Oscillator". It's a bit techie and much of it goes way above my head but some of the various chemical ions involved in this process are Potassium, Sodium, and potentially Magnesium.

Regarding Magnesium there are (pretty recent) scientific papers that discuss its ability to 'quantum tunnel' into human cells and change, or at least play around with a thing called the transmembrane voltage - essentially the operating voltage (and associated operating frequency) of every cell in the human body. I'm becoming more and more convinced that problems with this transmembrane voltage in various filter circuits in the auditory pathway upstream of the cochlear is what plays the key role in tinnitus. It would certainly explain why some people with hearing loss downstream in the cochlear don't get tinnitus while others do.

Absent a Lakhvosky Multiwave Oscillator to fully test the theory out, I do wonder whether Magnesium in bathing water could be being absorbed into the body and find its way into the cells of these filter circuits where it helps, through various chemical processes, create a more optimal transmembrane voltage. Furthermore, could this adjusted near-nominal voltage be what is partially enabling the filter circuits to operate correctly again and therefore lower the tinnitus somewhat?

There simply has to be a physical cause to tinnitus beyond the cochlear. I just can't accept that it's 'all in our heads' although ironically, that's exactly what it is.

 

For those doing Epsom salts baths (or any other type of bath), I learned a few years ago that adding a small amount of very inexpensive sodium thiosulfate (STS) to the bath water completely dechlorinates it almost immediately. It's such a great detoxifier, that mainstream medicine uses it for arsenic poisoning.

The arsenic detoxification works by changing the chemical composition of it--not transporting it out of the body in its toxic form. It also detoxifies a number of other heavy metals, and is a powerful anti-fungal (works great for candida overgrowth). Its sulfur component and action is somewhat similar to MSM and DMSO, both of which have reputations for breaking down and dissolving heavy metals.

STS is the compound that gives sulfur hot springs their rotten egg smell, which gives them their great healing qualities. You can create your own hot springs just by buying a few pounds of the STS crystals and putting about a tbsp. in your bathtub. One pint of STS crystals can dechlorinate 25,000 gallons of water! It's often sold in pet stores because of its ability to quickly dechlorinate aquarium water. It's also easy to order online for about $20-30 for ten pounds. This is what it looks like:

 

Not exactly but my Herbalist knew a lot about noise-induced tinnitus and explained to me what she believes happened.

I was 36 and suffering from severe noise trauma with hyperacusis that I can only describe as horrendous. My oversensitivity to sound was so acute during conversation with anyone, I had to ask them to please lower their voice as my ears were in pain! My auditory system was so damaged that the whole of my head felt completely numb. Thankfully I could still hear but it felt like I was listening to everything under water. This lasted 6 months, about the same time I was to be seen at ENT for the first time.

The Herbalist said my auditory system had been severely traumatised by listening to audio at too high a volume through headphones over a long period of time. She explained although we are all different, if one continues to subject themselves to loud noise, eventually something will blow. She advised one of the best ways to heal and hopefully repair the damage (and she stressed hopefully) is to feed the auditory system with Magnesium. She said the auditory system consists mainly of nerves, and Magnesium helps to repair and calm nerves. She advised to take the Magnesium tablets for at least 2 years and Ginkgo Biloba too.

Back then I had no Internet access and knew very little about tinnitus. On more than one occasion, this kind very knowledgeable woman, spent time explaining to me about tinnitus because she could see the distress I was in and wanted to help me, something I will always be thankful for.

When I was seen at ENT, I still had severe hyperacusis, but my head no longer felt numb which was a relief. After the hearing test the doctor asked if I had been taking anything because my hearing was way above normal. I mentioned taking the Magnesium and Ginkgo Biloba. He said the Herbalist advice was very good and advises all his tinnitus patients to take Magnesium and Ginkgo Biloba.

Michael

 

I wish you well with whatever you decide to do. However, if I were in your situation, I would deal with the underlying problem that originally caused the tinnitus in 2015 and then the increase this year 5/2022.

My suspicions are that you have noise-induced tinnitus because you have mentioned being oversensitive to sound. The way to treat it is using sound enrichment. Either self-help or with white noise generators under the care of an audiologist. This is the only way to treat oversensitivity to sound and if necessary, used alongside counselling.

Anxiety and stress often accompany tinnitus and if hyperacusis or oversensitivity to sound is present, more so. Under these circumstances medication maybe needed to help lower the anxiety and counselling might also be required.

Michael

 

Hi @Michael Leigh, how many mg of the Magnesium tablets were recommended? Do you still take both supplements?

 

Thanks @Michael Leigh. I am currently under the care of an hearing therapist with the NHS and have only had one appointment so far.

My tinnitus the first time was mild and I habituated to a point that it was pretty much non-existent in my life as I'd have to strain to hear it, I guess that's where I stumbled down the line.

Anyhow, the hearing therapist eased my anxiety at the first appointment with helping me understand my tinnitus more. I think it helped me more with the guilt feeling I have with giving myself tinnitus in the first place. I was a headphone user many moons ago during my teen years as I used them for comfort and to stop the health issues and stressors I was going through at that time.

Unfortunately making some silly decisions during a major bad point in my mental health this year brought me back to them for a short while and unfortunately the a antidepressants I was given during that bad time also had a negative effect on my tinnitus as it made it more louder and pronounced. So a combination of both I assume.

I am learning to live with it day to day and not let the mind wonder off into a negative mind-set as that's all I can do at this present time. I hope one day it'll lower or it'll get to a place where it'll be there but I won't care so much as I do now.

If only I'd found Tinnitus Talk years ago then maybe I would have had more knowledge on the subject. Oh well can't change the past now so have to keep moving forward.

 

Hi @Michael Leigh -- You might find the following video of interest She talks about Glutathione, and where I start the video, specifically mentions how it is so helpful for nerve and cell damage. Glutathione is the body's "master antioxidant", and the older we get, the less our bodies make. 30% less by age 40, 50% less by age 65.

Many holistic health care practitioners are advising their patients use this for COVID-19. COVID-19 creates massive amounts of toxicity in the body, especially the lungs where it settles in. Glutathione can help dramatically in cleaning this out. Interestingly, the highest concentrations of Glutathione in the body are in the lungs.

I've seen a number of testimonials where they talk about what nebulizing Glutathione does for their brain. Like it "wakes it up", and similar things. For anybody intent on trying to repair nerve damage, I think nebulizing Glutathione should be toward the top of that list of things to do. When I nebulize it, I always seem to have better energy the next day.

Glutathione: the most powerful antioxidant in your body

 

Thanks for the heads up. At times I can practically taste the chlorine in our tap water. Will look into STS.

 

Hi @Lane.

Thank you for the video link about Glutathione. I have never heard of it and found the video very informative. I am in the higher age group soon to be 63, but I've been told I look a lot younger which is nice to hear. However, I will look into Glutathione in more detail.

Thanks again and take care,
Michael

 

I didn't know you live in the UK @Strawberryblonde. Give it time, you will get through this. Although you haven't asked for advice, I hope you don't mind me mentioning it's probably a good idea not to listen to audio through any type of headphones even at low volume. If your hearing therapist disagrees with this (some do), my advice is don't use them, as you risk making the tinnitus and oversensitivity to sound worse.

Try to avoid quiet rooms and surroundings especially at night by using low level sound enrichment.

Best of luck,
Michael

 

I was advised to follow the instructions on the bottle, which was 1000 mg tablet 2x a day and took this for over 2 years. I also took Ginkgo Biloba in tincture form. Apparently, this enters the bloodstream quicker and was high quality Ginkgo.

I was also having TRT, which involved wearing white noise generators for up to 10 hours a day and having regular counselling. At the end of 2 years, the tinnitus had reduced to a very low level and only heard it in quiet surroundings occasionally. The hyperacusis was completely cured, it has remained this way till this day. In 2008 I had a second noise trauma, the hyperacusis did not return but the tinnitus increased and changed to variable tinnitus. It took 4 years to habituate for the second time.

I have mentioned the above to convey to you and anyone that wants to treat noise-induced tinnitus, to be aware that it usually involves more than one treatment. Whilst this condition can improve by itself without treatment, this rarely applies to someone that has once habituated and then suffered a second noise trauma at a later date. This could be after a year, 10 years or more. Please read my thread: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Whilst taking Magnesium and Ginkgo Biloba will be of help to the auditory system, it all depends on the severity of the tinnitus and hyperacusis (if it is present). The person may need counselling, medication and sound therapy using white noise generators, which will require being under the care of an audiologist.

Noise-induced tinnitus, with or without hyperacusis or having some oversensitivity to sound, can be complex to treat.

I have fully habituated to tinnitus for quite a number of years and, touch wood, I don't experience spikes. Because the tinnitus is variable, from silence, mild, moderate, severe and very severe, it only becomes a problem when it reaches severe levels, and this is sustained for longer than two or three days. Within this time, it can reduce to a more manageable level by itself. However, if it doesn't, taking 2x 0.5 mg Clonazepam tablets usually reduces it to a more manageable level over 12 hours.

I usually found it necessary to take Clonazepam once or twice a month for one to two days, then stop. Since having the Epsom salt baths, I have only taken Clonazepam once in 3 months. My tinnitus is still variable but for some time, it hasn't reached the severe levels that require me to take medication.

I am still taking Magnesium. One 1000 mg tablet 2x a day. I take Ginkgo Biloba as a tincture, made by Avogel, which is high quality.

All the best,
Michael

 

Wow, that's a lot of Magnesium but I guess the usual dose is for generally healthy people. Thanks for the information.

 

Please accept my apologies @tpj as I have made a mistake. I am taking Magnesium Citrate, made by Solgar. The dosage is 2 tablets a day, which provide 400 mg of Magnesium.

 

Any chance you would be willing to change up from Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate) to Magnesium flakes (Magnesium Chloride)? Magnesium Chloride is more easily absorbed by the body, which I feel when taking a half hour warm bath. I feel more youthful and vibrant when exiting it - it's my favorite time of day besides sleeping.

I do actually throw both forms of Magnesium in the bath since I had stockpiled many bags of Epsom salts, handful of each. Plus Boron for Fluoride, and Sodium Thiosulfate for Chlorine (pinch of these two).

 

i have both low and high frequency tinnitus, neither of which is no picnic.

When I take a bath, my tinnitus goes down considerably. No salts needed. Pretty sure it's a combination of:

1) the warm water
2) the relaxation
3) the fact that filling up the bath creates a loud noise which gives some residual inhibition

The Epsom salt will probably not hurt, but for anyone benefiting from baths, I bet you 5 spoons of salt that you'll get the same benefit without the salts.

 

For anyone interested I'm attaching a relatively recent academic paper on extra-cellular Magnesium ions and how they de-polarise the Neuronal membrane (snappy subject matter, I know).

Paper's quite a dry read as expected and there's a lot of maths in there, however, I found the opening line of the abstract intriguing [my emphasis]:

Magnesium ions have many cellular actions including the suppression of the excitability of neurons.

 

You could be right and could also be wrong.

My reason for taking an Epsom salt bath was to try and treat my severe sciatica and I believe it has helped thus far. There are many videos on YouTube, explaining the health benefits of the Epsom salts bath. This was the reason I started this thread in Health Talk.

After two weeks I began to notice a reduction in my tinnitus but I put this aside. When one month passed, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't used Clonazepam as I normally would. This is unprecedented since 2010, when my ENT doctor prescribed it because my tinnitus was so severe. I am not a newbie to tinnitus but a seasoned veteran, so I don't believe this is a figment of my imagination.

I was in two minds whether to mention that I have noticed a reduction in severity of my tinnitus. The reason being, I had a feeling, it wouldn't take long for the doubters and negative thinkers to hijack this thread, and I have been proven right.

I am not saying that an Epsom salt bath will reduce the severity of anyone's tinnitus. Those that would like to know more about the health benefits of Epsom salts, please visit: Frequently Asked Questions | Epsom Salt Council.

Michael

 

I am always willing to learn @CW Dragon, so will keep in mind your suggestions to try Magnesium flakes.

Thank you.

All the best,
Michael

 

I have been covering myself head to toe with Magnesium Chloride for 2 weeks. So far, no effect on nerve pain or tinnitus.

 

HI @makeyourownluck -- I've read that topical Magnesium Chloride applied over the stomach can increase the body's production of hydrochloric acid, critical for good digestion. Have you noticed an improvement in your digestion?

I've also read that it isn't particularly easy to restore optimum Magnesium levels in the body once they've been depleted. But that topical Magnesium Chloride (Magnesium oil as it's called) is the fastest way to do that. I myself used a combination of Magnesium oil and DMSO to alleviate some TTTS symptoms.

DMSO & Magnesium Oil for Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome (TTTS)

 

Is that a cream?

 

Can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in digestion. Although my gut is still in a mess with all the antibiotics I have taken recently. I finish the antibiotics today. Thank goodness! I hate taking so many pills.

I’m going to keep using the Magnesium Chloride and hope for the best. Will come back with another update in a few weeks.

 

It’s a liquid spray. Stings a bit when you first apply it but apparently that’s a good thing.

 

I've heard you can take probiotics to help with stomach issues after taking antibiotics. Not sure if that'd be a good idea or not though?