I use hot water/epson salts for my arthritic feet and it does help tremendously. Not sure the epson salts really do anything but they don't hurt. I'm thinking it's really just the hot water. I start with water as hot as I can possibly tolerate - even if just dipping in for a couple of minutes at a time till it cools off some. Then keep my feet in the hot water until it cools. After really horrible days on my feet, it does allow me to walk across the room at a tolerable pain level and then the next day makes things much more tolerable.