Herbal Sore Muscle Bath Soak for Soothing Muscle Pain Relief

Last Updated on July 8, 2019 by Diane Hoffmaster

One of the joys of getting old (ish!) is that I tend to hurt myself a lot easier than I did when I was young.  Being an active, middle aged woman, that means I am nursing sore muscles on a regular basis.  What is the best bath soak for sore muscles? Well, this herbal sore muscle bath soak certainly helped provide muscle pain relief this week.

Muscle Pain Relief and Middle Aged Workouts

Staying healthy as you age can be challenging.  A slowing metabolism means you need to work out more to maintain your weight.  But, working out makes you more prone to injuries and sore muscles.  It is hard to balance staying healthy with preventing injuries! If you need a little bit of muscle pain relief occasionally, this combination of bath salts and anti-inflammatory herbs may be just the thing you need!  

More Workout Tips 

• Hiking Tips for Women: What the books don’t tell you!
• Workout Gift Ideas for Fitness Enthusiasts
• Outdoor Workout Ideas To Boost Physical Fitness Levels

What can I add to my bath for sore muscles?

Epsom salt baths are incredibly popular for muscle pain relief but you can add numerous things to them to increase the effectiveness of your sore muscle bath soak.  Check out Annies Remedies for the medicinal properties of common herbs.  

I chose an assortment of herbs based on what I had dried from my garden and what I found on Amazon that I knew I could use for other projects.  I will include the recipe I followed, as well as links to purchase ingredients you may need.  Some you can find at your local grocery store but others will probably need to be purchased online.

What is the best natural muscle relaxer?

There are many natural ingredients you can put in your bath to relax and reduce inflammation.  Not all of them dissolve as nicely as salts do, though!  Peppermint and chamomile are both great natural muscle relaxers. However, using fresh or dried herbs in the bath can leave a mess behind so keep them contained.

If you are using fresh herbs in your bathtub, put them into empty tea bags to make clean up easier.  You can use small cloth tea bags or disposable paper tea bags, whichever you prefer.  Just make up a big batch of this sore muscle bath soak and keep it by the bathtub with your box of tea bags.  Include a small wooden scoop with it.   When you want to take a bath, just fill a bag and toss it into the tub.  No herbs stuck to your skin and cleaning the tub is easy!

More DIY Bath Products to Make

• Homemade Milk Bath Recipe with Dried Red Rose Petals
• DIY Honey Lavender Bath Melts
• Sinus Bath Salts for Congestion Relief

If you have a friend or family member who really loves yoga or gardening or working out, this sore muscle bath soak would make the perfect homemade gift.  Just package it up in a mason jar with a scoop and some tea baths and you will have one happy gift recipient!  These bath salts will stay good pretty much forever so there is no hurry in using them up.

How long should I take a hot bath for sore muscles?

Heat will get your blood moving, which is not only great for circulation but can also help sore or tight muscles to relax.  

How To Draw The Ultimate Healing Bath for Muscle Pain:

The water temperature shouldn’t be TOO hot.  While a hot bath feels great, a warm bath is better for your skin and immune system. Fill the tub so most of your body is underwater.  Add salts, oils, herbs, etc.  Soak for 10-15 minutes, breathe, relax, enjoy. Get out and pat dry.  Make sure to drink plenty of water to rehydrate. 

I love soaking away my aches and pains with a sore muscle soak like this one.  Recovery from a workout definitely takes me a little bit longer now that I am in my 40’s! I remember those days of my youth when I could hike for a whole weekend and never need any muscle pain relief when I got home.  Ah, the good old days of youth, right? But, I’m not going to let age stop me from working out! And with pretty smelling herbal bath salts like this one, I don’t need to!

Ingredients for this Herbal Sore Muscle Bath Soak

Most of the ingredients in this sore muscle soak are dried and can be purchased in bulk to save money.  Make up a big batch at once.  There is nothing in here that will ‘spoil’ so you can leave it in a jar in your bathroom for several months and use it for post workout baths as needed. I always have some sort of homemade bath product for sore muscles sitting by the tub!  Here are the ingredients you will need:

• Epsom salt
• Essential oils: peppermint, rosemary, arnica, or your favorite scent.
• Himalayan Course Salt
• Baking Soda
• Dried Arnica Flowers
• Some dried sage
• Juniper Berries
• A bit of dried rosemary
• A handful of dried mint 

 

Herbal Sore Muscle Bath Soak for Soothing Muscle Pain Relief

 

 

Yield: 4 cups

Herbal Sore Muscle Bath Soak for Soothing Muscle Pain Relief

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Are you looking for natural muscle pain relief? This easy to make sore muscle bath soak combines salts and herbs to naturally soothe and relax muscles.

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Difficulty easy

Estimated Cost $15

Materials

• 2 cups Epsom Salts
• 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
• 1 cup Himalayan Course Salt
• 3 to 4 TBSP Dried Arnica Flowers
• 4 TBSP dried rosemary
• 4 TBSP Juniper Berries
• 1 TBSP dried sage
• 4 TBSP dried mint
• 10 to 20 drops of essential oil: peppermint, rosemary, arnica, or your favorite scent.

Tools

• Glass bowl
• wooden spoon
• glass jars for storing

Instructions

1. Mix all dried ingredients in a large bowl.  Gently stir in the essential oil. 
2. Place in a large mason jar
3. To use, put about 1/4 cup of bath soak in the tub directly or in a tea bag for easier cleaning. 
4. Fill tub with warm water and soak for 20 to 30 minutes
   
   

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