Epsom Salt Science

October 4, 2012

It’s the end of the week, and if you’re like most dancers I know, your body is sore and achy all over. Well-meaning friends and teachers will probably tell you to hop in an Epsom salt bath. But will that actually help? Maybe, but most of the benefit comes from the bath, not the salt. “Whether you’ve got salt or not, hot baths have been shown to ease stress and tension—and that itself can speed healing,” says Lauren Kreha, ATC, a certified athletic trainer and clinical specialist at the New York University Langone Medical Center, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Harkness Center for Dance Injuries. The supposed powers of Epsom salts, however, are most likely just a placebo effect. Find out more in Pointe‘s October/November Your Best Body.