Contents
Pain relief and muscle relaxation are among the most important benefits of magnesium — especially for people with arthritis, chronic pain and muscle cramps. Products made with Black Sea lye are among the richest natural sources of magnesium. In this article you will discover why magnesium matters for pain and how to take it in through the skin.
In brief
- A lack of magnesium is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis — and to a stronger sensation of pain.
- Magnesium “guards the gate” of the NMDA receptor — a key player in transmitting the pain signal.
- Excessive calcium intake can push magnesium out of the cells.
- Magnesium is also absorbed through the skin — with baths, compresses and lye massage.
Why magnesium matters for pain
A lack of magnesium lies behind many of today’s most widespread illnesses — heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis. Without enough magnesium the heart beats irregularly; the arteries harden, narrow and become blocked; blood pressure rises; the blood clots more readily; muscles cramp; insulin works less effectively and blood sugar climbs; bones lose strength — and pain signals grow stronger.
“Many people suffer needlessly from pain, including fibromyalgia, migraine and muscle cramps, because they are not getting enough magnesium.”
— Dr Mildred Seelig, magnesium researcher at the University of North Carolina
The problem deepens when people start taking large amounts of calcium in the belief that it will help them. Too much calcium pushes magnesium out of the cells and so reduces the effect of both minerals.
Pain medicines — painkillers, and sometimes antidepressants and tranquillisers — address the symptoms. According to the author, magnesium targets one of the causes: pain and illness are often the residual effect of magnesium deficiency or another mineral imbalance.
Magnesium and the NMDA receptors
The spinal cord contains receptors known as NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate). They play an important role in heightening sensitivity to pain — something central to several chronic neuropathic pain conditions. At rest, the receptor’s “gate” is closed by a magnesium ion sitting at its centre. From this alone it is easy to see how low magnesium levels intensify pain.
NMDA receptors form ion channels in the synapses of nerve cells. Normally these channels are closed and blocked by magnesium ions. Two things are needed to open them: enough glutamate and a depolarisation of the cell membrane that pushes the magnesium out. A negatively charged cell attracts magnesium ions and they close the channel; if the cell loses its charge, the ions disperse.
Without the magnesium “plug”, sodium, potassium and above all calcium flow into the cell. Calcium activates the signalling pathways linked to glutamate, substance P and other factors that amplify pain. Neurons in the spinal cord send a signal to the thalamus — the part of the brain that processes it and strengthens the response to pain. Prolonged activation of the NMDA channel and high calcium levels inside the cell can even lead to the death of nerve cells.
Intravenous or transdermal magnesium increases the difference in magnesium ion concentration between the intercellular fluid and the cell membranes — thereby blocking the NMDA receptor and bringing relief.
What the research shows
Scientists have studied the action of magnesium, both on its own and together with morphine, in experimental models of chronic pain. Magnesium alone (at a dose of 90 mg/kg) was found to significantly reduce heightened sensitivity to pain in rats with mononeuropathy and diabetes, while in combination it enhanced the analgesic effect of low doses of morphine. As magnesium is well tolerated, these findings have clinical applications in neuropathic and persistent pain.
When NMDA receptors are more excitable — as they are when magnesium is lacking — pain intensifies. In fact, all receptors depend on their ion channels, which are specific to minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. That is why sufficient quantities and a proper balance of minerals, magnesium above all, are essential to health, and why a shortage explains pain being felt more acutely.
According to the author, several neuropathic conditions sharing the same pain signalling pathways would respond to transdermal magnesium — both locally and throughout the body:
- peripheral diabetic neuropathy;
- post-herpetic neuralgia following shingles;
- complex regional pain syndrome (reflex sympathetic dystrophy);
- neuropathy following surgery or trauma;
- toxic and idiopathic neuropathy.
Why through the skin?
With a bath, a foot bath or a local application, the body itself regulates how much magnesium to take in and where to direct it — you cannot “overdose”. Once it is saturated, after a magnesium chloride bath for example, it simply stops absorbing it.
Heat and magnesium chloride together stimulate circulation and the elimination of waste products. The therapeutic effect of magnesium baths comes from the way they draw inflammation out of the muscles and joints. Applied directly to the skin, magnesium chloride is absorbed through it and acts quickly on chronic pain.
Transdermal magnesium also suits athletes, who need a great deal of magnesium. According to Mark Sircus, author of the book “Transdermal Magnesium Therapy”, for injuries and tired muscles magnesium taken orally is not as effective as magnesium taken through the skin — and the difference is greatest precisely when it comes to pain.
People report relief from the pain of sports injuries, lower back pain and sciatica, headaches, restless legs, arthritis and many other painful conditions.
Pain, depression and medication
Magnesium deficiency is common in people with depression and chronic pain. Severe depression is thought to be four times more common among people with chronic back and lower back pain than in the rest of the population, and it increases as the pain grows more severe. According to the author, transdermal magnesium is beneficial for both problems.
Chronic pain is often treated with opiates. They work well, but the body quickly becomes accustomed to them and doses have to be increased, which makes pain harder to manage in the future. Even over-the-counter painkillers carry risks with prolonged use. Sircus believes that magnesium can help people who develop a dependence on strong painkillers, and that transdermal magnesium chloride is easily incorporated into any pain management programme.
Before you begin
Transdermal magnesium is not a substitute for treatment prescribed by a doctor. Do not stop or reduce painkillers or antidepressants on your own. If you are taking medication, have a heart condition or high blood pressure, consult your doctor — with high blood pressure the lye should not be warmed.
How to take magnesium through the skin with lye
- Bath — 500–2000 ml of lye in 60–80 l of water at around 38 °C, for 15–30 minutes, then rinse off.
- Foot bath — 150–200 ml of lye in a bowl of water up to the ankles, for 20–30 minutes.
- Compress — a cloth soaked in lye warmed in a water bath (38–40 °C), placed on the painful joint for 20–40 minutes; a course of 12–14 treatments.
- Massage — with massage gel or oil with lye on the painful area.
You will find detailed instructions in the article “The benefits of Pomorie lye and how to apply it”.
Based on Mark Sircus’s book “Transdermal Magnesium Therapy”. Source: svoizbor.com
About Luga.bg
Maker of natural products with Black Sea lye and liman mud from Pomorie. We have been writing about lye, mud and sea minerals since 2015 — with doctors, physiotherapists and our own experience.
