Does Magnesium Help with Nerve Pain?
Nerve pain impacts 10% of adults over the age of 30. Pain can be intermittent, or it can be chronic pain that is debilitating. So our question is...does magnesium help with nerve pain?
Yes!
Magnesium for nerve pain is well-studied, and it works overtime helping the body use vitamin D.
If you’re like 50% of the United States population, you’re deficient in magnesium despite it being one of the most abundant minerals in the world. Magnesium is found naturally in many foods, including dark chocolate, fatty fish, sunflower seeds, bananas, and avocados. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to obtain enough of this mineral from your diet alone.
When consumed or supplemented in your diet, magnesium can help provide relief from neuropathy. If you’re suffering from pain, magnesium may be your answer to relief without a laundry list of side effects.
How Does Magnesium Help With Nerve Pain?
Magnesium works in over 300 biochemical processes throughout the body, including helping maintain muscle and nerve function. Vital for all of the cellular processes and functions in the body, magnesium is often used as a pain reliever.
On a deeper level, magnesium helps stop neuromuscular irritability, which is caused by insufficient calcium levels in the body. Since your nerve endings release calcium ions, they signal the muscles to relax and contract.
When irritability occurs, nerve and muscle spasms occur.
Magnesium stops these nerve receptors from being over-stimulated, which leads to pain. A 2011 study on magnesium’s role to help N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors found that this mineral has beneficial effects for people suffering from neuropathic pain.
Studies on magnesium for nerve pain show promising results. A few studies of note are:
- 2017 research paper found that magnesium caused antinociceptive effects in animal studies, which helped reduce inflammation and neuropathic pain.
- 2011 study concluded that while more research is necessary, magnesium shows promise for helping with multiple forms of pain, including perioperative pain, neuropathic pain, and numerous other forms of pain.
- 2000 study found that high levels of magnesium were able to help with uncontrolled neuropathic pain.
Magnesium deficiency has also been linked to causing mental health disorders as well as osteoporosis, fatigue, muscle weakness, and even high blood pressure. If your diet is lacking magnesium, supplementation can be beneficial even if you don’t have nerve pain.
Due to magnesium being involved in hundreds of the body’s processes, it plays a key role in:
- Converting your food into energy
- Muscle relaxation and contraction
- Neurotransmitter regulation
- Nervous system function
- Brain function
If pain is associated with inflammation, the introduction of magnesium into your diet can also help. Studies show that low levels of magnesium can lead to chronic inflammation. In older individuals, magnesium was also able to reduce key inflammation markers.
How to Use Magnesium for Nerve Pain
Magnesium can be consumed in supplement or food form, or you can apply creams infused with magnesium to the areas where you’re experiencing pain. Each method provides its own usage requirements:
- Food. Aiming to eat foods with high magnesium content is a good option, but it can take weeks before you notice a difference.
- Supplements. For some people, depending on their diet, it’s easier to take magnesium supplements than change their diet. Supplements often produce results in a few weeks and make it easier to consume high amounts of this mineral.
- Creams. Most creams can be applied to the area where pain exists once per day or as needed.
Dosing amounts will depend on the source and severity of the pain you’re experiencing. A lot of people will start with 250mg to 500mg of magnesium per day, but it’s important to start slow because magnesium can lead to stomach discomfort.
Daily recommended intake is 310 mg for women and up to 420 mg for men. If you can’t find a dosing amount that works for you, the body can normally tolerate these levels without concern of side effects.
Topical magnesium oil and creams offer a topical, localized solution to nerve pain. Our Inner Warrior+ nerve relief cream is cruelty-free, paraben-free, and gluten-free, so you no longer have to worry about the harmful side effects of over the counter options!
Beautifully blending full-spectrum CBD, CBG and CBN with magnesium and DMSO, this easy-to-use blend provides fast-active pain relief when you need it most!
You no longer have to set aside portions of your day to search for relief. You can finally have the renewed energy to tackle your to-do list and conquer the day!