Sodium (as salts) makes spring water buoyant and is traditionally used to ease aches by taking weight off joints.
Sodium, usually as sodium chloride or sodium bicarbonate, is the mineral you feel rather than see: the saltier the water, the more buoyant it is, and the more weight it lifts off your joints and spine. That buoyancy is a big part of why a mineral soak eases aches — it is hydrotherapy in the most literal sense. Saline thermal water is traditionally used for joint and muscle relief and is gentle warming on the skin.
How you'll know it
Salty, buoyant water — the saltier the spring, the more you float.
Traditionally good for
Associations from long use and emerging research — restorative, not medical claims.
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Buoyancy takes pressure off joints and the spine
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Traditionally used for muscle and joint relief
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Gentle, warming, widely tolerated
Good to know
Saltier water can be drying — rinse off and moisturise after a long soak.
Springs rich in sodium
Sources & further reading
For general interest, not medical advice. Benefit claims reflect long tradition and emerging research; the strength of evidence varies by mineral and condition.