Pain you've carried for years.
Gone in one hour.

Both help, but neither achieves zero gravity. Even lying in a bath, gravity still loads your spine and joints — water only counteracts weight at the surface. In the float pod, 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt creates a density that fully suspends the body, removing all compressive load. No massage can decompress a lumbar disc. No bath can take your hip joints to zero load. That's what makes the float pod unique for structural pain relief.

Yes — and fibromyalgia has its own research base. The International Fibromyalgia Float Project enrolled 81 patients across 5 countries. Participants reported significant decreases in pain, stiffness, and muscle tension, and significant improvements in freedom of movement and energy. The float environment is particularly well-suited for fibromyalgia because it removes sensory load (sound, light, pressure, gravity) that sensitized nervous systems react to.

One float produces immediate, measurable relief. For lasting change — particularly in chronic conditions — the Kjellgren research used 12 sessions, which is where the "daily to weekly" pain frequency shift was observed. A practical starting point: two floats a month for the first 8 weeks, then assess. The body accumulates benefit; each session builds on the last.

Open wounds and broken skin should be fully healed before floating — Epsom salt is saline and will sting. For musculoskeletal injuries, floating is generally beneficial once acute inflammation has subsided (usually 2–3 days post-injury). For post-surgical recovery, consult your surgeon; float therapy is not contraindicated for most orthopedic procedures and is often used to support recovery. Your studio team can discuss specifics when you call to book.

Epsom salt's primary role is physical. 1,000 pounds dissolved in water creates the density that makes effortless zero-gravity flotation possible. The warm water (34–35°C, matched to skin temperature) combined with complete muscular decompression produces real, measurable relaxation. As for transdermal magnesium absorption: it's commonly claimed in the float industry, but peer-reviewed research hasn't yet established that clinically meaningful amounts cross the skin at float tank temperatures. The documented mechanisms behind float therapy's pain relief — zero-gravity decompression, cortisol suppression, and nervous system downregulation — stand on their own without it. What the salt water does contribute is a uniquely conductive environment: every surface of your skin in simultaneous electrical contact with a solution at 5,000+ µS/cm. That's a different electrical state than your body has ever been in, and it may contribute to the parasympathetic shift float is well-documented to produce.

It's related but different. Traditional grounding includes barefoot on grass, grounding mats, and grounding sheets. It works by creating a conductive connection to Earth at a single point of contact. Float tanks do something similar but at a completely different scale: your entire body is surrounded by highly conductive salt water, meaning every square inch of skin is making contact simultaneously. The impedance between your body and the conductive medium drops to near-zero. Whether that amplifies the parasympathetic and anti-inflammatory effects associated with grounding research is still being studied, however the electrical environment inside a float pod is unlike anything else you can create outside of liquid immersion. It's the most complete conductive contact a human body can experience.

Yes. Float therapy is not contraindicated with pain medications and does not interact with any drug class. It is frequently used as a complement to physical therapy — the zero-gravity decompression between PT sessions allows the body to integrate the work done in therapy without re-loading the structures being rehabilitated. Always continue prescribed treatment; discuss any changes with your provider.