How Magnesium Treats Back Pain
Your body uses calcium and magnesium to relax and contract muscles. Calcium is used to contract muscles and magnesium to relax them. Unfortunately, by most estimates 70 to 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium.
When you are magnesium deficient, your muscles cannot relax very well. You can have leg cramps as well as just about any other muscle pain from a magnesium deficiency.
We do not get enough magnesium from our food and we do things such as drinking soft drinks, which depletes calcium and magnesium from our bodies. Most soft drinks have phosphoric acid in them. Your body has to buffer this acid in your blood by using minerals.
If you do not have enough minerals, your body will pull minerals from your bones. If you drink soft drinks, you can take good quality mineral supplements to replace the minerals you lose. Otherwise, you could end up with bone loss.
I have found a great article about what magnesium does in your body and how it relieves pain. http://www.purelabvitamins.com/role-of-magnesium.php
There are several types of magnesium that are available in supplements. There are magnesium citrate, malate and carbonate and glycinate. It is commonly believed that magnesium citrate is the best absorbed type. I have used all of these types of magnesium over the years with minimal results. I’m always experimenting with new supplements to see if they are good.
I finally found a magnesium that was very effective. After just a month I could tell a huge difference. That is magnesium glycinate. This is a type of magnesium that is “chelated” with glycine, which is an amino acid.
Minerals are always better chelated, that is bound to amino acids for better absorption, however magnesium glycinate seems to be far better absorbed than even chelated magnesium citrate.
On the topic of calcium, please do not take calcium by itself. Your body needs magnesium to absorb calcium and if you take calcium on its own, it can cause calcium deposits in your body. It is OK, and in fact good, to take magnesium alone. You need more magnesium than calcium.
Amazon carries two types of chelated magnesium glycinate. The kind with the doctors label is combined with amino acids and it smells weird. I think it is the proline, but I’m not sure. I just know I don’t want to take it. The Brand below does not have an odor.
Click here for: Solgar Chelated Magnesium 
Please be sure to take Chelated magnesium glycinate. There are other kinds of chelated magnesium that are not as effective, in my experience. I have tried many types of magnesium over the last 15 years. It is worth it to take the best quality magnesium, so you actually absorb what you take.
80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium. In my opinion, it is one of the most important things you can do for your health.
Common problems from magnesium deficiency:
- Heart Arrhythmia
- PMS and cramps
- Leg cramps – at night and during the day
- Migraines
- Tight muscles
After my personal experience with magnesium, I insist my migraine patients take magnesium. If you do not have the magnesium to relax your muscles, it will take a lot longer to heal. It is important to give your body what it needs to function normally.