We’ve all had a day (or days) at the gym where we just weren’t feeling it and something tweaked in a muscle just the wrong way and got a little sore. If you’re looking for quick soreness and inflammation relief after a workout the Soak Rapid Relief Muscle Spray might be just what you’re seeking.
Soak products are not new to Breaking Muscle readers. This company produces a line of soreness fighting products, and the original bath version was reviewed here previously. Those bath crystals are ideal for delayed onset muscle soreness, but sometimes your needs are more immediate and more localized to some specific muscle. That’s where the spray comes in.
The Soak muscle spray has some unique ingredients over the bath crystals, boasting perhaps a wider array of potential benefits:
- Peppermint, menthol, and eucalyptus – a powerful blend of oils that have been shown to have both topical and olfactory benefits for pain relief, inflammation, antiseptic properties, and more. There are even purported performance enhancing qualities, although the Soak company doesn’t state this themselves.
- Arnica and boswellia – for pain relief and inflammation.
- Emu oil and MSM – both have numerous purported benefits with a focus on joint health. After troubles with FDA approval over health claims, MSM, an industrial solvent, has had mixed results in terms of demonstrated benefits.
I found the Soak spray to be very refreshing, but historically I have been a non-responder to many of its ingredients like arnica. I did find it to be stimulating and to have a small local effect, so even for me it helped to take the edge off of some muscle pain. The cooling effect of the mint and eucalyptus in particular was nice, but ultimately that was its primary effect for me.
I’ve been using the Soak spray for a few months now, and one unexpected but welcomed benefit was as a decongestant (while this is in no way mentioned by the company). When coming off of the winter, I tend to get a stuffy nose. I noticed after using the spray that it actually cleared my sinuses. I wound up using it on more than one occasion for just that purpose. In that regard, I found it highly effective, but I can’t speak for Soak’s intentions on that one.
While many people swear by each individual ingredient, and this is certainly a powerful soreness fighting blend, I’m not sure I saw a major personal benefit. But given how many people might find benefit, I wouldn’t disregard this product. For anyone looking for quick relief from minor muscular pain from a workout this spray is definitely worth tossing into your gym bag for a trial run, in particular if you’ve had success with any of its ingredients in the past.