When I was a child, I was thrown from a horse and spent many years thereafter challenged by lower back and radiating leg pain. With time and maturity, as well as changes in my diet and appropriate exercise, I’ve put those pain-days behind me, but I’ve carried forward some of the best solutions that I learned from the experience. One of my favorites of these is the soothing comfort of an old-fashioned herbal sitz bath. Often used to relieve issues related to post-birth discomfort, etc., a sitz bath is also ideal for easing general lower-body soreness and fatigue.
A sitz bath is a shallow bath in which you can add salts, herbs, and other ingredients to create a clean, warm, healing pool in which to sit. There are small tubs made specifically for this purpose, which are ideal for concentrating the salts and herbs where you need them most. However, when dealing with pain and fatigue that impacts the lower back and legs, a bathtub is the appropriate vessel.
The word “sitz” is from the German “sitzen”—no surprise, it means “to sit.” There are other names for these short, soothing baths as well. My grandparents, for instance, prescribed taking a “hip bath” (water only up to the hips). I’ve also heard people call them a “salt soak,” which makes sense because salts, particularly Epsom salt, are a ubiquitous ingredient in these little baths.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, a chemical compound made up of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen—in other words, human health essentials. Magnesium sulfate is readily absorbed through the skin, so a sitz bath is a perfect way to get the best benefits of this naturally occurring mineral compound that is known for promoting relaxation of the muscles as well as increased circulation in the soaking area. It can be used as a stand-alone salt for soaking or blended with supportive botanicals, other salts, baking soda, etc. to enhance the experience.
I make sitz baths much the way my grandparents did, with Epsom salt and baking soda, as well as whatever skin- and muscle-soothing herbs are appropriate for the occasion: often lavender, calendula, and comfrey, and sometimes additions like oatmeal for extra skin pampering. I also like St. John’s wort and arnica flowers when I’m achy, and ginger when I’m feeling a little under the weather and need to warm up. In Ayurvedic tradition, you may see “warmer” herbs and spices like mustard powder included to stimulate skin circulation and rejuvenate tired muscles.
Ingredients
Directions
Pro Tips
You May Also Enjoy:
Topics: Natural Body Care, Herbalism
Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is proud to have earned a certificate of completion for the Herbal Medicine Making Course at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.
When I was a child, I was thrown from a horse and spent many years thereafter challenged by lower back and radiating leg pain. With time and maturity, as well as changes in my diet and appropriate exercise, I’ve put those pain-days behind me, but I’ve carried forward some of the best solutions that I learned from the experience. One of my favorites of these is the soothing comfort of an old-fashioned herbal sitz bath. Often used to relieve issues related to post-birth discomfort, etc., a sitz bath is also ideal for easing general lower-body soreness and fatigue.
A sitz bath is a shallow bath in which you can add salts, herbs, and other ingredients to create a clean, warm, healing pool in which to sit. There are small tubs made specifically for this purpose, which are ideal for concentrating the salts and herbs where you need them most. However, when dealing with pain and fatigue that impacts the lower back and legs, a bathtub is the appropriate vessel.
The word “sitz” is from the German “sitzen”—no surprise, it means “to sit.” There are other names for these short, soothing baths as well. My grandparents, for instance, prescribed taking a “hip bath” (water only up to the hips). I’ve also heard people call them a “salt soak,” which makes sense because salts, particularly Epsom salt, are a ubiquitous ingredient in these little baths.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, a chemical compound made up of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen—in other words, human health essentials. Magnesium sulfate is readily absorbed through the skin, so a sitz bath is a perfect way to get the best benefits of this naturally occurring mineral compound that is known for promoting relaxation of the muscles as well as increased circulation in the soaking area. It can be used as a stand-alone salt for soaking or blended with supportive botanicals, other salts, baking soda, etc. to enhance the experience.
I make sitz baths much the way my grandparents did, with Epsom salt and baking soda, as well as whatever skin- and muscle-soothing herbs are appropriate for the occasion: often lavender, calendula, and comfrey, and sometimes additions like oatmeal for extra skin pampering. I also like St. John’s wort and arnica flowers when I’m achy, and ginger when I’m feeling a little under the weather and need to warm up. In Ayurvedic tradition, you may see “warmer” herbs and spices like mustard powder included to stimulate skin circulation and rejuvenate tired muscles.
Ingredients
Directions
Pro Tips
You May Also Enjoy:
Topics: Natural Body Care, Herbalism
Heidi is an award winning freelance writer with a passion for urban homesteading. She has been honored to receive a number of literary prizes including the esteemed Pushcart Prize and an Individual Artists Award in Creative Writing from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is proud to have earned a certificate of completion for the Herbal Medicine Making Course at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. When she isn’t working in the garden, cleaning the henhouse, preserving food, crafting herbal formulations, or writing and editing content for really fantastic small businesses, you’ll likely find her with her nose in a book.
