Soap will stop cramps, spasms, and pain!

 About 6 years ago I ran across something quite strange on line, that claimed that a bar of soap could stop cramps and spasms.  Since I had a private forum for people who live with pain and many of us suffered from cramps and spasms, we decided to try it and see if it really worked.  Over the years, I'd say well over 75 of us have tried it and it worked for all but one person.  Of course I don't know just how much of a chance they gave it, but even if it didn't work for one person, the fact that it's worked for all the rest of us is just amazing!  We also discovered that it worked for arthritis pain as well.  I was the first one to try it for that, mainly because I was just plain desperate.  I have both RA and OA as well as Sjögren's and was in tremendous pain and just couldn't take it anymore.  So I thought, why not try the soap...it certainly can't hurt!  And lo and behold, it worked!  I Used to take a LOT of flexeril, the max dose, and since I've been using the soap, I rarely take any at all, and when I have, it's just half the dose. All of us who are using the soap, now simply can't live without it and wouldn't want to! We've each introduced many other people to this marvel including members of our families and they all use the soap now.  I've even told my pain doctor and my primary doctor about it and they tell other patients!  At this point, I'd say there's well over several hundred folks that have tried the soap and had it work for them now.

Some of the diseases people use the soap for are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's, Restless Leg Syndrome - RLS, Leg, foot, stomach Cramps, Muscle Spasms, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, stomach cramps when you've had diarrhea or the flu, menstrual cramps, just about any kind of cramp or spasm anywhere in your body regardless of what the cause is. The only kind it doesn't seem to work on is when the person is having them because they're deficient in something like potassium or something like that. We've even had people use the soap to stop pain from a car accident and it worked for that as well!.

If there was just some way I could get this info into the hands of everyone that has restless leg syndrome, or leg or foot cramps, or muscle spasms, and convince them to just try it, I'd feel like I'd done something really worthwhile with my life!!!! This really works! I don't know why, I don't know how, but it does! The members of my site and I have been using this soap remedy since October of 2007 and we just love it.

You may have to try more then one brand of soap, but it will work. Here's a little bit of what I originally found on line so many years ago:. 
 
I just LOVE being able to do away with the muscle spasms just by having a bar of soap in my bed, or here in the chair with me, instead of having to take the really strong muscle relaxers! My doc has me on the strongest possible dose of muscle relaxers, 20mgs of Flexeril. Of course it has quite a few lovely side effects, even though I've been taking it for 9 years.
Soap Under the Sheets for RLS, Leg, foot, stomach Cramps, Muscle Spasms, Periodic Limb Movement Disorder, etc.

Q. Several months ago I went to my neurologist for my yearly physical and told him about a problem I had with my legs "jumping" at night and waking me up. He gave me the technical name for it and wrote me a prescription for Mirapex. I then told him I had read in your column about putting a bar of soap in the bed, so he told me to try the soap and fill the prescription if it didn't work. I still have the unfilled prescription sitting on my bathroom vanity. When we went on a trip to Yellowstone, I took my soap along and slept fine every night we were gone. A. This home remedy mystifies us, but we have heard from many readers like you. The risk of unwrapping a fresh bar of soap and putting it under the bottom sheet where the legs will be is almost zero. The cost is far less than a prescription. Positive responses from other readers experimenting with Ivory soap remedy:...... http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/archi...leg_cramps.php
Reader Comments I read about this home remedy in the newspaper. I have indeed suffered from RLS basically all of my life, and I am over 50! My mother always told me I had "growing pains" -- HA! When I read this, I thought it was the silliest thing I had ever heard of. I truly believe in home remedies, but just sleeping with a bar of soap?!?! Well, let me assure any and everyone! It WORKS. I have now had 5 nights of sleep - in my own bed - no walking around, no moving from one place to another just to find comfort -just pure wonderful sleep. TRY IT!!!
I saw an article in our local newspaper about 6 months ago about putting soap under the sheets for RLS and tried it immediately. Since that time I have not had a single leg cramp. I use Caress.

What a wonderful, really inexpensive treatment that stops RLS.
I have suffered from severe leg cramps for years. I read about the Ivory soap, tried it and I have not had a leg cramp since.

I have severe Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). Have used Sinemet and Mirapex over the last 8 years, but stopped each due to side effects. Currently unmedicated and miserable with the leg movements at night, waiting on test results and the docs to decide next line of defense. Someone mentioned the Ivory soap. Well, I tried it in a wrap around my ankles and under my feet in a double socks, but what seems the best is I have four bars across my lower bed so that no matter where I move my feet, one is near. If a movement wakes me, I move my foot to touch the soap, and fall right back asleep. Hasn't been a cure, but certainly has made it more tolerable and less sleep robbing. Can't begin to understand it. The most logical theory I've read is one wondering if the leg movements are like electrical currents, maybe the composition/density of the soap absorbs the brunt of the charge. (Like rubber and lightning.) Would love to understand why, but just having a degree of relief is good enough for me.

I have tried several kinds of bar soap for leg cramps. First being Ivory. I learned that I need to change the soap about every 3-4 months. I buy them at the 99 cent store. 3 bars for for 99 cents is the best investment for a good nights sleep. It took 3 nights before it worked, but that was 2 years ago and no leg cramps for me now. I use the cheap nylon anklets or cut the foot off old panty hose to slip the soap into that seems to help keep it in place. I use two bars under the bottom sheet, one on each side near my feet.
for more comments go here: http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archi...leg_cramps.asp

Give it a try! I would recommend a few things though that I've gathered in researching this:
 
1. Always start with a fresh bar of soap. Don't use one that's been opened before. Keep in mind that although it usually works immediately for most people, some have had to wait up to 3 days before it started working.  Yes, take the bar out of the box and unwrap it.  You can stick it in a sock or pair of knee high panty hose, or whatever, or just toss it on the bed as is.
 
2. If one brand doesn't work for you, don't discount the idea, try another brand. Remember, it's still not costing you anything as you can use the soap in the bath if it doesn't work in bed
 
3. I've heard that neither Dial nor Dove work for most people, but some of the women in my group use Dial and I use Dove!.  Some people swear by Ivory, but a few said it didn't work for them. I don't recall hearing about any other specific brands not working...but that could be my memory too. (Note: I use Dove under my sheets now and it works great for me! I use the rose scented kind cause I like the smell and it helps relax me)
 
4. Speaking of the smell, the first bar I tried that worked was Irish Spring. While the scent is nice, it just wasn't something I wanted to go to bed and smell all night, so I specifically looked for one that had a scent that was both pleasing and relaxing to me. That's how I wound up with the Rose scented Dove. BUT, I discovered from another person that tried the soap that for people who have asthma or COPD etc, that the scented soaps may make your breathing more difficult. AT least if you have the type of asthma that can be brought on by scents. Therefore, if you have asthma, you should probably start with a soap that's "unscented". Keep in mind though that some soaps that are "unscented" still have a "soap" smell and you don't really want that either. You want one that's really unscented. Unfortunately I forgot to ask them which brand they're using now, so I can't give you any tips on that.
 
5. realize that you're going to have to replace the bar of soap in about 3 to 6 months. (that's a very approximate time) For some reason it will stop working at some point during that time, but all you have to do is grab another bar of soap and replace the one in your bed with the new bar.
 
6. Another thing I've learned about it over the last year of so, is that "how much" soap you'll need to use, depends on how many things are wrong with you, and on if you sleep with someone else and if they also have problems with spasms, or cramps.

I still have no idea what it is in the soap that stops them, but for the purpose of trying to explain this, let's call that ingredient X. For example: I have RLS which means I get spasms in my legs all the time. Some nights they're mild, some nights they're "medium" and other nights it's just horrid. I also have problems with my back which causes me to have muscle spasms in my back too. OK, what I found is that ONE bar of soap at my feet worked just great for my legs, and no matter how bad the spasms were, it would stop them, IF I wasn't having back spasms. BUT if I was having back spasms, then it wouldn't work for my legs very well either. It seemed like it made the spasms in my legs a little better and even my back spasms a little better, but didn't take them away. Out of frustration one night, I got up and grabbed a second bar of soap. Immediately ALL my spasms stopped! I did some experimenting after that and have determined that the amount of the "ingredient X" you need from the soap, goes up in direct proportion to how bad your spasms are and in how many places in your body they are; and that if someone else is in bed with you, (including pets) and they have spasms, then they are also using up some of your "ingredient X". I also have RA and when that flares up on top of everything else, I wind up with a bunch of soap around me lol, but it works, which is what counts!

It's very interesting to "play with it" to find out just how much you need etc. But the reason I'm trying to explain this is to let you know, that if one bar of soap isn't taking your spasms or pain away 100%, then just grab a second bar! Another thing that also seems to make a difference is where you put the soap. I've found that the soap at the bottom of my feet, doesn't work as well for my back spasm, so since I have the spasms in both places pretty constantly, I now sleep with one bar at my feet and one bar by my back and that does the trick quite nicely.

So if you have spasms in more then one place in your body, or you spouse has them too, you may have to play with the number of bars in the bed and with the placement of the bars too to find what works best for you. For me, I have to have the soap touching me-or to be more exact, the sock or fabric bag that it's in has to be touching me. 

I would just hate to have someone just give up thinking it didn't work for them, when all they needed to do was either add another bar or move the soap into a different position.  On a lighter note, one friend tried this and it worked for her problems as well.  Her husband has RLS too but didn't believe the soap would work and didn't want anything to do with it. Well he'd wake her up when it got bad and she got tired of it, so when he'd be asleep, she'd slide another bar of soap over to his side of the bed by his feet, which of course stopped the spasms right away, LOL.  Since he's was asleep though, he wasn't aware of it, and still doesn't believe the soap works. RFLOL
 
7. You can have the soap in your bed just as it is, or you can stick each bar of soap you use into a sock or a small cloth bag. I have mine in cloth bags because it makes it easier for me to find them when I climb into bed. I just feel around at the bottom of my bed with my feet till I feel the bag, and then just grab it and pull it up some so my feet are touching it. Then I grab my other bag and stick it near my back.
 
8. One last thing I'd like to mention is this; if you have spasms during the day you can still use your soap. Since I have the spasms during the day too, I can always just grab one of my bags and stick it in the chair with me and that takes care of the back spasms, or stick it on the floor by my feet and that takes care of feet and leg spasms. Another member told me that she either uses the small hotel sized bars or cuts a bar in half and puts one on each side of her leg inside his socks during the day. That way it controls the spasms even when she has to walk. Other members just stick the soap in the pocket of their slacks. If you use your imagination, you can pretty much use the soap anywhere you are and anywhere you go. It's really great not to have to rely on a medication that has side effects anymore! 

I can remember before I tried the soap for the RA pain, sitting up at my desk one night, crying because I was so afraid of going to bed. I knew that as soon as I fell asleep, the pain would come back with a vengeance, and I'd do anything to not go through that again. I've learned tricks to prevent it from getting bad during the day, but I can't do those things when I'm asleep. Then I thought of the soap...I didn't have anything to lose, so gave it a try and it worked!

In order to prevent the pain at this point, I'm now up to 6 bars of soap on my legs and one or two at the bottom near my feet every night when I go to bed.

I was thinking about that as I was getting ready for bed last night and how hilarious it would look if anyone could see me. I don't know if I can explain it well enough for you to picture it, but this is my routine when both of my knees and both hip joints are hurting from the RA/Sjögren's. I have 4 bars of soap that are each in a knee high panty hose. They're nicely wrapped inside the knee highs so that it's nice a smooth.

I have 4 bars of soap, each wrapped like the one you see in the middle, which is just a single knee high panty hose, and 4 inside 4 different stretched out knee high socks. ( have "extras" for when other joints are hurting at the same time)

 I took another pair of panty hose and cut the toes off of them because I can't have anything touching my toes especially if it's tight and I cut them off at the top of the thigh too, so they look kind of like leg warmers I guess. I slip one of those on each leg and then put one bar of soap inside the left one just above my knee and the next one goes about 3 inches higher. Since they're inside the panty hose I cut off, the panty hose holds them in place all night and the two bars - one just above my knee and the other about half way between my knee and the hip joint, stop any pain in those two areas. That just leaves the hip joint and that's where the soap in the long knee high socks comes in.

Remember how I explained where the hip joint is? For anyone who didn't see that: If you put the palm of your hand on your knee and then move it up your leg until you come to where the line of your underwear would be around your leg, that's where your hip joint is. Here, I made a graphic to show everyone:

I take the long knee highs that have the soap in them and I wrap it around my leg at the hip joint so that the soap is laying directly on top of it, and tie it in place. So now I have 3 bars of soap firmly affixed to each leg so that they can't move or come off even if I roll over during the night. Then of course there's at least one down at the bottom of the bed to help prevent any restless leg syndrome from bugging me. Sometimes there's two because they have to pull double duty there when my toes are giving me problems with a lot of pain. (who would have ever thought that a toe could ever cause such severe pain???)

Anyway, when that happens, I wear loose footies to bed and put a bar of soap in the bottom of them so it's right under my toes. So, depending on where the pain is, or the spasms are, that's where I put the soap. When it's my stomach, I just stick the bar next to my stomach and my underwear holds in in place. Necessity is the mother of invention, and if you use your imagination a little, you can come up with all kinds of ways to get the soap to stay where you need it.


Believe me, I would absolutely panic if I didn't have my soap!