Austin Cripe's List: Mythbuster

• Claim:   A bar of soap between the bedsheets will prevent leg cramps.
• While many possible causes have been posited for these contractions, those afflicted by them are far more concerned with getting rid of these debilitating cramps than they are with understanding their origin. Over the years, many preventions have been suggested, including:  
   
  • Stretching one's calf muscles prior to going to bed.
   
   
  • Swearing off caffeine in the evening.
   
   
  • Increasing one's intake of potassium, magnesium, calcium or Vitamin E.
   
   
  • Sleeping on one's back with toes pointed towards the ceiling.
   
   
  • Increasing one's intake of water during the day.
   
   
  • Taking quinine (now available only by prescription) or drinking tonic water (which contains small amounts of quinine). It needs be noted that in 2010 the FDA strongly cautioned consumers against using quinine to combat leg cramps because the drug can cause severe side effects, including death.
• sleeping with a bar of soap in the bed. No one has yet produced a plausible explanation as to why snoozing with one's Ivory might stave off those devastating nocturnal leg cramps, yet the reports of its doing so are numerous.

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• Why Does Soap Soothe Nighttime Leg Cramps?
• The following hypothesis was contributed by Derek H. Page and Hugh Smailes:
• In other words, it's all in the mind.
• Some even report relief although they were unaware that a bar of soap had been snuck into bed. Likewise, others whose cramps have mysteriously returned have been nonplussed until they later discover that their bars of soap have fallen from the bed

• We decided to condense the relevant literature down to a few points on which there is general agreement. Here are the main relevant observations taken from the anecdotal evidence:

   

  1. It seems to work for many people. Soap in the bed appears to alleviate nocturnal leg cramps.
  2. Relief is immediate and sustained.
  3. Some people report that soap does not work. It appears either to work consistently and well or not at all. There are few cases of partial success.
  4. After a few months, a bar of soap is no longer effective for preventing cramps. It must be replaced. Old soap can be rejuvenated by scoring or shaving it to produce fresh surfaces.
  5. Some subjects have placed the soap between the sheets, and some have placed it under the bottom sheet. Either or both of these methods work.
  6. Some subjects report that direct physical contact between the subject and the soap is desirable, but few claim it is essential.
• This might sound like a stretch, but in fact, this "switching" mechanism is consistent with what we know about the structure of soap.
• This suggests that our unknown molecule is volatile, capable of diffusing in air: i.e., that it can pass from a bar of soap to your cramping leg in a manner similar to the way a drug is transmitted through a skin patch.
• After generating this hypothesis, we took a careful look at the list of ingredients on a package of soap, and we found only one possible source of small molecules of a volatile compound: the fragrance. Nearly all soaps contain fragrances or perfumes. Certainly those mentioned in the anecdotal evidence do.
• But we do know that most soaps contain esters and oils, such as carrot oil and lavender oil (or their synthetic doppelgangers). These compounds are vasodilators. Like the ester nitroglycerin, which is used to alleviate pain caused by angina, they enlarge blood vessels. The quantity of perfume transmitted to the skin may be small, but it appears to be enough to dilate blood vessels and prevent cramps.

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• To my surprise, they concluded that, yes, a bar of soap does seem to help some people, even though there is "no scientific evidence" for why this would work.
• Some people say that if cramping starts, they simply adjust their position so that the soap is making contact with the muscle, and the cramping and pain stops.
• The most obvious theory is that the cramp relief is simply a placebo effect. People believe that it'll work, so it does. But it seems premature to dismiss the phenomenon in this way. Perhaps there is some strange bio-chemical effect at work.
• They theorized that it was the smell of the soap, not the soap itself, that was having the antispasmodic effect. So they applied soap-scented oil to skin patches and tested them on women with a history of severe menstrual cramps. The women reported that the patches did help.
• So until a better theory comes along, I'm willing to accept the possibility that soap between the sheets might ease cramps — perhaps because the smell somehow tricks the brain into ignoring the pain and suppressing the cramping response

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• Sodium tallowate soap cushion
• The inventive cushion further comprises compartments into which hard soaps substantially comprised of Sodium Tallowate are inserted. When a body part rests on the cushion with Sodium Tallowate hard soap, vapors form to relieve pain in the body part.
• 3. The cushion of claim 1, in that at least 70% of the hard soap comprises sodium tallowate.
• wherein the at least one compartment comprises four subcompartments proximal to a central compartment inside of which sodium tallowate vapors accumulate.
• The invention further comprises compartments in which soap containing high amounts of Sodium Tallowate (apprx. 70%) is inserted. When the soap is inserted into the compartments, vapors are believed to assist in the alleviation of body aches and pains.
• As an alternative to narcotics, sufferers of these conditions have discovered a home remedy in the form of soap.
• Some soaps appear to work better than others, but it is believed to be Sodium Tallowate, an ingredient in soap, that produces a response in the body that alleviates body pain resulting from RLS and leg cramps.
• It is also conceivable that the key ingredient is the lye content found in Sodium Tallowate that helps to relieve body aches and pains. Thus, the use of soap in proximity to the human body has increasingly become a home remedy as an alternative to conventional medicine.
• First, Sodium is an electrolyte
• Second, Sodium is Ionic, which means that it is held together by charged bonds. Ions play important roles in the body's physiological processes.
• These ionic bonds may have a positive effect on the body's electrical charge, nerve impulses and metabolic functions.

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• The soapy cure has gained such a following that it was even brought up on the daytime talk show, "The Doctors," where Dr. Jim Sears conducted a Twitter poll and 42 percent of his responders said they've successfully used soap to relieve nighttime leg cramps.
• On another popular medical talk show, "The Dr. Oz Show," Dr. Mehmet Oz recommended placing a bar of lavender soap beneath the bed sheets to alleviate RLS, hypothesizing that the smell of lavender is relaxing in itself and may be beneficial for the condition. However, there are no peer-reviewed studies that suggest lavender — or lavender soap — can successfully treat RLS.

• According to Andrew G. Kowal, MD, a pain management specialist at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts, the theory behind this home remedy is that a bar of soap will give off the chemical magnesium, which will relieve you of leg cramps.
• , Dr. Jim Sears of the daytime show The Doctors, conducted a twitter poll. Of the respondents, 42 percent of people allegedly used soap to alleviate nighttime leg cramps.
• The Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Mehmet Oz stated placing a bar of lavender soap under the sheets can alleviate RLS. He believes the scent of lavender is relaxing and may be beneficial for the health condition
• If you are suffering from either nighttime leg cramps or RLS try lavender soap and see how that works for you. If you are more conventional person who needs scientific evidence visit your healthcare provide and discuss your ways to increase your magnesium intake or other options.

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• Most experts agree that there is no definite medical reason as to why soap for leg cramps should work, but many people use it for that purpose regardless of the reasons.

• I am a physician schooled in the scientific method. I trained at the most prestigious medical settings and have adhered strictly to conservative scientific inquiry.
• Now, though, I am pain-free at last! Since putting a soap bar under the sheet, my cramps have disappeared. I have no rational scientific explanation for this relief, but it does work. Someday this phenomenon will be explained. Until then, however, I am content to be leg-cramp free with a bar of soap under my bedsheet.