Magnesium spray is a product that’s applied externally on the skin. Though it’s touted to advertise muscle leisure, improve sleep, and manage migraines, studies of its effectiveness have yielded mixed results.
The following article covers the advantages of magnesium spray, its uses, and its safety considerations.
Female experiencing pain in her foot at home.
Gabriel Mello / Getty Images
What Is Magnesium Spray?
Magnesium is a mineral that plays a very important role in most of the body’s processes.
It is important for the next:
- DNA and RNA production (two kinds of nucleic acids that store genetic information)
- Protein production
- Muscle contraction
- Blood pressure regulation
- Blood sugar regulation
- Nerve transmission
Although there is no such thing as a advice for topical usage of magnesium, major health institutions have established a advisable amount of magnesium taken by mouth per day.
Listed below are the advisable each day amount (in milligrams, or mg) of magnesium intake based on age and other aspects.
- 51 years old and above: 420 mg (male), 320 mg (female)
- 31 to 50 years old: 420 mg (male), 320 mg (female or lactating), 360 mg (pregnant)
- 19 to 30 years old: 400 mg (male), 310 mg (female or lactating), 350 mg (pregnant)
- 14 to 18 years old: 410 mg (male), 360 mg (female or lactating), 400 mg (pregnant)
Magnesium spray is a liquid type of magnesium that’s applied to the skin. It has been marketed for promoting muscle leisure and sleep.
Because magnesium chloride hexahydrate is water soluble, it typically takes the shape of a twig.
When to See a Healthcare Provider About Muscle Pain
Though self-care is acceptable for muscle pain from minor injuries or exercise, see your healthcare provider if you’ve gotten severe muscle pain.
Magnesium Spray Benefits
Though taking magnesium supplements by mouth is common, limited research exists on using magnesium on the skin to enhance magnesium levels within the body.
The pondering there’s that magnesium topically applied on the skin bypasses gut absorption.
However, studies comparing the absorption of magnesium taken by mouth versus applied on the skin are lacking.
Despite this scarcity, some studies have a look at the localized effect of magnesium spray in improving a sore throat after surgery and nerve, muscle, and joint pain.
Intubation-Related Sore Throat
Compared to a placebo (an inactive substance), topical magnesium reduced sore throat severity after surgery in people undergoing tracheal intubation (a procedure for opening up the airway). However, further studies are essential to make clear the optimal dose of topical magnesium.
Nerve Pain
Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage that causes a tingling and numbing sensation within the arms or legs.
In a study of 20 participants with chronic kidney disease, the each day application of magnesium chloride sprays to limbs affected by peripheral neuropathy for 12 weeks decreased the frequency and severity of nerve pain symptoms. One limitation of the study was that it was performed mostly in females.
Chronic Muscle and Joint Pain
A small-scale study assessed whether applying magnesium to the skin would improve the standard of lifetime of 40 female participants with fibromyalgia. This chronic condition causes muscle and joint pain, fatigue, and other symptoms. The study suggested that 4 sprays of magnesium chloride solution twice each day to the upper and lower limbs for 4 weeks may profit those with fibromyalgia. However, further dose-finding studies with larger sample sizes are essential to substantiate this result.
Does Magnesium Spray Increase Magnesium Levels?
Currently, little research shows that topical magnesium impacts serum magnesium levels.
Magnesium is transported into the cell via magnesium transporters. Because the outer layer of the skin doesn’t contain magnesium transporters, magnesium absorption occurs within the small areas of the sweat glands and hair follicles.
One study proposed that applying magnesium to the skin can assist with magnesium deficiency inside 4 to 6 weeks versus 4 to 12 months within the case of magnesium supplementation by mouth. However, this does not support evidence resulting from unpublished data.
A small-scale human study suggested that 56 mg of magnesium cream applied each day on the skin for 14 days had no statistically significant effect on magnesium blood levels. Although the outcomes were statistically insignificant (meaning they might have been brought on by likelihood), a clinically relevant increase in magnesium blood levels was observed.
From a clinical perspective, clinical usefulness is more relevant than statistical significance because, on this case, such a rise would take months to indicate change with magnesium supplementation taken by mouth.
It can also be necessary to notice that the study’s creator declared a helpful interest in transdermal (via the skin) magnesium cream products.
Because it stays unclear if magnesium absorption via your skin is simpler than by mouth, further studies are essential to substantiate the quantity of magnesium absorbed into the skin.
How to Use Magnesium Spray
In one study, magnesium chloride solution was given in a twig bottle and used as follows:
- Spray the answer into the palm and apply evenly on the affected area.
- Wait for 4 hours between doses.
- Wait at the very least one hour after application before showering or washing the product off.
- Leave the product on the skin throughout the day and wash it off before bedtime to avoid transferring it to the bed sheets.
- Rinse the answer off with water in case your skin becomes irritated.
- Avoid applying the answer to open wounds.
Precautions
Avoid magnesium chloride sprays in case you’re allergic to them or their components. Seek immediate medical attention if you’ve gotten a severe allergic response to them (akin to itching, hives, or shortness of breath).
Other than skin irritation, topically applied magnesium chloride solution has no known unintended effects.
Summary
Some studies have shown that the topical use of magnesium sprays can reduce the incidence and severity of an intubation-related sore throat after surgery, decrease the frequency and severity of nerve pain symptoms (peripheral neuropathy), and improve chronic muscle and joint pain (fibromyalgia).
However, larger studies of varied populations are essential to make clear the optimal dose for every of the aforementioned conditions.
More research can also be essential to find out how using topical magnesium affects magnesium blood levels.
