Surprisingly effective, ancient Italian remedy for a stiff neck

[Miss Isness]

I went to work yesterday with a painful, stiff neck. Fortunately, my student, who is 75 years old, suggested I try using sulfur. My husband went to the pharmacy/herb shop, and most of the people working there had never heard of it. There was one person, however, that knew about it and offered to order it.

My husband came home today with 3 big sticks of sulfur that look like big fat pieces of chalk. The piece of paper enclosed said that the remedy is commonly used in the region of Liguria, and that the sulfur sticks are known for removing electrical charge. I've had 2 rubbings so far, and the stiffness has decreased noticeably. While my husband was rubbing my neck and shoulders with the sticks, they made a crackling sound.

It seems odd to me, but I'm grateful for the relief. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea why it works....

 

[Gaby]

Reminded me MSM which is an organic sulfur. For example, a quick search brought this: _http://www.evolutionhealth.com/msm-cells2.htm

I remember, when I lived in Italy, visiting the bubbling hot sulfur springs in Sirmione (Garda Lake). Apparently there are other "sulfur spas" in the northern region.

 

[Miss Isness]

Hi Navigante,

I checked the site you mentioned, but I'm not sure how it relates since MSM is a supplement that is taken internally. I actually did a search earlier and found that MSM numbs nerve cell endings http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=1133 , but I don't really see how this applies to rubbing solid sulfur over the skin, which results in a crackling sound.

There are no doubt numerous important functions of sulfur in the body. I read that one of the reasons that mercury is so deadly is because it binds with sulfur and thus steals it from cells leaving them incapable of functioning normally.

As for sulfur springs, we actually have a small one right in our front yard. The water is only warm, though, not boiling like the springs in Viterbo where I occasionally go to swim in the hot sulfur water at Terme dei Pappi, or The popes' hot springs.

 

[Gaby]

Hi Navigante,

I checked the site you mentioned, but I'm not sure how it relates since MSM is a supplement that is taken internally. I actually did a search earlier and found that MSM numbs nerve cell endings http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=1133 , but I don't really see how this applies to rubbing solid sulfur over the skin, which results in a crackling sound.

Just mentioning that it reminded me MSM. It has being associated with lessening of inflammation, reduction of muscle spam, helping scar tissue and with inhibition of pain impulses along nerve fibers. There are topical uses of MSM, but in gels and that kind of thing (creams).

Maybe there could be an similar effect by rubbing a sulfur compound solid in your skin?

 

[Johnno]

There's a trick I learnt whilst looking for a solution to neck and shoulder problems using Bowen Therapy. They claimed that a sore neck and even a rye neck is caused by a buildup or pocket of lactic acid in the neck muscle.

http://www.bowen-therapy.info/remedies/neckpainrelief.shtml

The cause of the pain is usually a tight (hypertonus) muscle with a small knot deep within it. The knot is cramped muscle due to an accumulation of lactic acid. This impacts on the nerves within the muscle causing the pain. The aim of the exercise is to release the lactic acid without further aggravating the condition

So maybe it was a case of getting a massage with a sulfur stick!

Nevertheless I looked around for some sort of reactions of lactic acid and sulfur solutions and couldn't find much. Sulfur compounds are good for arthritis and rheumatism so maybe your neck pain is bone and tendon related and not muscular. The sulfur was introduced dermally.

I did the sulfur bath thing too at Ax de Thermes in the Pyrenees, made my feet feel alive!

 

[dantem]

I've bathed on the Saturnia Thermes once, it was great for both skin and muscles. I've seen those sulfur sticks before but never used them.

Usually whenever I got a stiff neck I began with rotating arms back and forth and when the muscles heat up rotate the head right and left.

Sticks may be very useful when the pain is so deep that you can't even move your neck. It' s funny, maybe the mystery of sulfur lies more on skin's capacities as an 'organ' of the body to absorb anything and get it ready for body 'consumption'.

Then stretching any muscle always works miracles! Ah, if you don't stretch a muscle for at least 20 seconds it won't work but don't ask me why.

 

[Gonzo]

Just to add a thought about the crackling sound when using sulfur sticks, I imagine it was just the natural sound that sulfur makes when being squeezed, bent or otherwise stressed.

Sulfur rocks that I handled when I was young and dangerous with a chemistry kit (sulfur is a primary component of gun powder, which I discovered easy to make), tended to make a variety of sounds that included creaking, squeaking and crackling when compressed or rubbed against another piece of sulfur.

So, the sound might have nothing to do with the therapeutic properties.

Fyi,
Gonzo

 

[D69]

So, the sound might have nothing to do with the therapeutic properties.

Well , actually it has OSIT :)
It is a method also known by older polish people.
I remember playing with sulfur a bit.
Sulfur has 3 main states. (maybe more)
All 3 are based on temperature.
If I remember correctly one of these 3 states has these healing properties but it tends to degrade with time - it is Metastable like wiki says.

--wiki--
Amorphous or "plastic" sulfur can be produced through the rapid cooling of molten sulfur. X-ray crystallography studies show that the amorphous form may have a helical structure with eight atoms per turn. This form is metastable at room temperature and gradually reverts back to crystalline form. This process happens within a matter of hours to days but can be rapidly catalyzed.
--wiki--

__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur

Anyway after heating up sulfur to a certain temp. will make it plastic , then this plastic form is used as a thing to rub a neck , and during this process it slowly degrades going back to its original crystal form , hence these cracklings.

 

[Gonzo]

So, the sound might have nothing to do with the therapeutic properties.

Well , actually it has OSIT

Hi Drygol, perhaps there are two different crackles that people are discerning and I was only thinking about the other. In my experience with handling sulphur, if you take a piece in natural rock form at room temperature and squeeze it, you will hear creaks, squeaks and crackles, which I assumed was the sound referred to earlier.

I couldn't really tell from what you wrote how the crackling sound is somehow associated with the therapeutic properties, but from what I could understand (please correct me if I am misunderstanding you), you are saying:
- sulphur is therapeutic (at least for rubbing on sore necks) when in a "plastic" state
- this therapeutic state is achieved when sulphur is heated to a certain temperature
- the crackling sound is associated with sulphur returning to its crystalline state as it cools

I guess what I feel like I am still missing is how you feel the crackling is associated with the therapeutic properties.

Thanks,
Gonzo

 

[D69]

To be honest I don't know how it works on living tissue and how it affects it. Possible explanation is that it removes electric charge build up on a rubbed place.
But I just wanted to point out that when sulphur changes its state it does this crackling sound and thats why I think it is associated with the therapeutic properties.

- sulphur is therapeutic (at least for rubbing on sore necks) when in a "plastic" state

I am not sure if it is the same state.

- this therapeutic state is achieved when sulphur is heated to a certain temperature

Again I am not sure if it is this therapeutic state , but I am sure it becomes plastic - I have checked it myself

- the crackling sound is associated with sulphur returning to its crystalline state as it cools

Pretty much with one difference, not when it cools down but when it crystalises/changes state - it may be cold at that moment

Also , I will run tests to confirm above in my spare time so we will be 100% sure.
Heh I just gotta do something to my neck so it will sore

 

[danr]

Pretty much with one difference, not when it cools down but when it crystalises/changes state - it may be cold at that moment

Hello everyone. I'm sorry to revive this 3-months old thread, but I just found it while scouring the web...

I was searching for infos on the sulfur sticks because I wanted to try them for some (involuntary) muscular contraptions I'm feeling on my arm. Fact is that I'm now far from my home town and I wanted to check how widespread they were and, maybe, how they worked. I am from a small town in Liguria, Italy, and reading here it seems they are far less spread than I thought :).

My father regularly uses them since at times he experiences several degrees of back pain, and for the mild ones he always told they were miraculous. We always bought them at the local drug store and, thinking back now, they always looked quite "local", often sold loose, wrapped in paper and without any branding. It's just recently that my father bought a bigger box of them and inside there was this leaflet explaining some of the things you already mentioned (they are supposed to work absorbing static charges from muscles) and how to keep them cooled to prolong their life or to wash them under running water after use to let them last longer.

I never used them myself (on my body, I mean), however I can confirm the crackling sound they produce. It is absolutely not due to any kind of mechanical stress: just holding/rolling them in your bare hands will produce a lot of crackling that will gradually fade as they absorb charge from your hand (assuming this is how they work). Then I remember rolling them on my father's back and in some points they would crackle more and less in others. Sometimes I also remember the stick suddenly breaking in half after a stronger crackle. Either way, the stick would stop crackling after some time (one use, maybe two) and then they had to be replaced.

All of this just confirms drygol's theory on the supposed amorphous/crystalline state change of the sulfur. The sticks also always looked "extruded" (from the traces on their surface) which may be a suitable high-temperature production method for the amorphous sulfur. Another thing I remember is that the sticks were not 100% pure but contained some small amount of "black grains" (probably impurities). They also looked bigger than the ones I've seen online (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32wdZrs2Vo), about 1.5 inches thick.

This is all I remember about them and I hope you may find them useful if you manage to find a place where to buy them. And I'm sure I will try them as well, since I may be starting to feel the aging ;).

Some interesting links follow:

• 2006 US patent application: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=J1ynAAAAEBAJ&dq=11/458686 (Prior art anyone?!? ;))
• Confirming the Italian origins: http://saludbio.com/en/azufreterapia-sticks-sulfur
• Is "pain snappers" the proper name? http://www.herbsandsuch.net/
• FAQ about them: http://www.herbsandsuch.net/page/1236875 (I am now noticing this is the same guy which filed for the patent... And he is claiming for the actual invention... How lame is that... You may need to pay him royalties in the US if he is granted the patent, some US citizen should write to USPTO...)
• Italian Wikipedia entry, this is the real deal: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelotto_di_zolfo

While searching, I noticed that someone is trying to sell these things as a relief for any pain. IMHO they just help with muscular pain.

Cheers.
Danilo

 

[Nienna]

Hi danr,

We like to have new people post an introduction in the Newbie's section and tell us how they found us, if they've read any of Laura's books, etc. Nothing personal. Just a little bit on how you found our forum. :)

 

[dantem]

This is all I remember about them and I hope you may find them useful if you manage to find a place where to buy them. And I'm sure I will try them as well, since I may be starting to feel the aging ;).

Some interesting links follow:

• 2006 US patent application: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=J1ynAAAAEBAJ&dq=11/458686 (Prior art anyone?!? ;))
• Confirming the Italian origins: http://saludbio.com/en/azufreterapia-sticks-sulfur
• Is "pain snappers" the proper name? http://www.herbsandsuch.net/
• FAQ about them: http://www.herbsandsuch.net/page/1236875 (I am now noticing this is the same guy which filed for the patent... And he is claiming for the actual invention... How lame is that... You may need to pay him royalties in the US if he is granted the patent, some US citizen should write to USPTO...)
• Italian Wikipedia entry, this is the real deal: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candelotto_di_zolfo

While searching, I noticed that someone is trying to sell these things as a relief for any pain. IMHO they just help with muscular pain.

Cheers.
Danilo

Hi Danilo,

thanks for the info about the 'candelotti' :) , might be useful here.

I was about to try them as they're usually sold into 'fossili&minerali' shops around where I live, but then I've found that by relieving inflammation in general and following the Eiriu Eolas breathing program was all I needed to ease muscular pains, especially in the neck area.

Hope you'll find some more interesting things in this forum :) ...such as the Newbie's sections before posting anything more, as suggested by Nienna here.

Ciao!

 

[Sheebah]

I went to work yesterday with a painful, stiff neck. Fortunately, my student, who is 75 years old, suggested I try using sulfur. My husband went to the pharmacy/herb shop, and most of the people working there had never heard of it. There was one person, however, that knew about it and offered to order it.

My husband came home today with 3 big sticks of sulfur that look like big fat pieces of chalk. The piece of paper enclosed said that the remedy is commonly used in the region of Liguria, and that the sulfur sticks are known for removing electrical charge. I've had 2 rubbings so far, and the stiffness has decreased noticeably. While my husband was rubbing my neck and shoulders with the sticks, they made a crackling sound.

I've been taking organic sulfur internally in the form of MSM crystals from this guy in Hawaii that I heard about on Naturalnews.com a while back. I started about 3 months ago and I have to say it's one of the most powerful supplements I've found for ME. It's a nutrient that I have had a really hard time catching up with. I believe like many others I was born deficient. It's really hard to get enough sulfur bearing aminos and unless you're a heavy raw foodist it's hard to get enough when you're in the hole so to speak. I'm so interested in the alchemy of sulfur now. Interesting that you're doing these "rubbings", thanks so much for posting this I keep learning more and more about this stuff, I seem to be attracting all kinds of info on sulfur lately.