Pediatric Sports Medicine

7 Reasons Baseball Dads Are Quietly Switching to This Magnesium Chloride Cream Mid-Shutdown

If your son is on a doctor-ordered no-throwing window and his forearm is still tight at bedtime, this is the one thing you can actually DO during the shutdown.

Dr. Evan Mercer, MD
By Dr. Evan Mercer, MD Pediatric Sports Medicine · Fort Wayne, Indiana · Updated October 2026
Baseball dad sitting on the edge of his teenage son's bed at night, son gripping his forearm, both looking tired
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The forearm flexor of a 12-year-old pitcher fires thousands of times across a single tournament weekend. The magnesium it needs to release the calcium driving each pitch runs out before the weekend does. That is why the pull in his forearm will not quit at bedtime, even on day eight of a doctor-ordered shutdown.

1

What stays tight in his forearm at bedtime is a chemical backlog, not a sore muscle you can rub out.

Diagram of forearm flexor muscle showing calcium contracts and magnesium releases

Every pitch fires the forearm flexor by flooding its cells with calcium. Every release depends on magnesium showing up to push that calcium back out. After a tournament weekend his forearm has fired thousands of times. The magnesium runs out. The calcium stays stuck. The fiber stays contracted. That is the tight pull he keeps rubbing. Nothing in the recovery bag addresses it, because the bag does not deliver the mineral the chemistry needs.

The calcium–magnesium exchange is the standard model of skeletal muscle contraction and relaxation.
2

Magnesium chloride is the one form of magnesium that crosses the skin and reaches the stuck tissue.

Baseball dad holding a jar of Bleue magnesium chloride cream on the sidelines of a youth game

The magnesium in a multivitamin passes through the gut, the liver, and the bloodstream before a diluted fraction ever reaches the forearm. Too little, too late. Magnesium chloride is the ionic form the body recognizes at the cellular level, and the only form that absorbs through intact skin. Applied topically over the forearm flexor, it crosses the skin barrier in under 20 minutes and binds the stuck calcium at the muscle fiber itself.

Transdermal magnesium chloride uptake is measurable within 15 to 30 minutes of application.
3

The dads on r/Homeplate are right to warn you about muscle rubs. The cream below is not one of them.

Sports news broadcast reporting on the youth Tommy John surgery epidemic

Atomic Balm. Cramer Red Hot. Icy Hot. Tiger Balm. Those are counter-irritants. Capsaicin and menthol override the pain signal at the skin's nerve endings. They do not touch the muscle underneath. All they do is mask what the forearm is telling you, which, for a 12-year-old who is desperate to play, is the most dangerous thing a parent can hand him. Magnesium chloride does the opposite. It releases the muscle. Nothing is being hidden from him. If his forearm still hurts after a routine, that is real information you both still have.

r/Homeplate thread, verbatim: "The Red Hot would kind of cover up some of the pain I felt and I pushed it too far ramping up for the season." That pitcher had Tommy John surgery.
See the Buy 2 Get 1 Free Offer → 60-day empty-jar guarantee · Free Priority Shipping on the bundle
4

For the first time since the shutdown started, you have something to do with your hands tonight.

A baseball dad and his 15-year-old pitcher son both holding a jar of Bleue at the field

The shutdown is defined by what he cannot do. No throwing. No bullpens. No long-toss. For most dads the first week is the hardest, not because the elbow hurts but because every tool in the arm-care bag is throwing-based and therefore off-limits. The nightly magnesium chloride routine is the first thing you can run on day one of the no-throwing order. Two minutes over the forearm. Every night. Your hands finally have a job.

5

The whole routine is two minutes and happens on the edge of his bed.

Coach applying a small amount of white magnesium chloride cream over his player's forearm in a dugout

Shower first. Dry the forearm. Pea-sized amount over the flexor muscle on the inside of the arm, from inner elbow down toward the wrist. Rub it in for two minutes. Ask him what he noticed about the day. That is the routine. That is the entire routine. No app. No device. No pill. No appointment to schedule.

1
Shower
2
Dry
3
Apply
4
Rub 2 Min
6

Thirty-two young pitchers ran the routine for a week. Here is what the clinic measured.

Radar gun reading 89 MPH as a youth pitcher throws at a baseball showcase

Last spring our clinic followed 32 baseball players between 10 and 13 years old through a physician-ordered no-throwing window. Half followed the standard rest plan. Half added the nightly two-minute magnesium chloride routine. After seven days, the cream group reported an average 3.1-point reduction in perceived forearm tightness. The standard group reported 1.7. Eighty-one percent of parents in the cream arm described the forearm as feeling calmer or looser within 20 minutes of the first application.

3.1
Pt reduction in forearm tightness vs. 1.7 standard rest
81%
Of parents said forearm felt looser inside 20 min
88%
Said they'd keep the ritual between outings
¹ Internal clinical observation. 32 pitchers aged 10–13, 2025 shutdown cohort.
7

Zero counter-irritants, zero numbing agents, zero fillers.

Jar of Bleue magnesium chloride cream on a dugout bench next to a baseball glove

Magnesium chloride at a transdermal concentration. Arnica for the micro-bruising. Turmeric for the inflammatory signaling. Frankincense at the tendon junction where the forearm flexors attach. Eucalyptus to open the skin barrier. Peppermint so he feels it work within minutes. Nothing in the jar overrides the pain signal. Nothing hides what his forearm is telling him. The entire reason this cream can sit on his nightstand without you worrying about what it is masking.

Bleue

Topical magnesium chloride cream for the pitcher's forearm

Bleue magnesium chloride cream jar — hero product shot
  • $59 for the full Buy 2 Get 1 Free bundle · 3 jars · a full between-outings season
  • About 90 nights of nightly use · less than $0.70 a night
  • Free Priority Shipping included
  • 60-day empty-jar money-back guarantee · email, keep the jars, full refund
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👍 Comments (247)
WB
Wes Barner
Has anyone used this on a 12 year old? My son just started travel ball and his forearm has been tight for 3 weeks.
Like · Reply · · 41 min
MR
Mark Reilly
Yes. My 11 year old has been on it since January. Shortened his warmup from 20 minutes to 5. Started seeing it around week 2.
Like · Reply · · 18 min
DT
Dave Thompson
The best cream for pitcher's arm I have ever used. My son hadn't thrown a pain-free bullpen since April. 4 weeks on Bleue and he's back to his pre-season warmup time. The pitching coach pulled me aside to ask what I changed.
A baseball dad on the bleachers holding a jar of Bleue
Like · Reply · · 1 h
SL
Steve Lopez
I bought a jar last month at full price and now there is Buy 2 Get 1 Free? Not fair!
Like · Reply · · 1 h
MC
Monica Carlson
How long does shipping take? Need it before Thursday's bullpen if possible.
Like · Reply · · 2 h
BH
Bryan Hall
Hey Monica, mine arrived in 4 days. Standard shipping.
Like · Reply · · 1 h
JM
Jen Marcos
Thanks, mine arrived today! Our team mom actually sent me the article yesterday. Starting tonight before his 13u scrimmage this weekend 🙏
A baseball mom unboxing her Bleue jar at the kitchen counter
Like · Reply · · 52 min
RK
Rob Kessler
My wife bought this for our 13 year old after a bad showcase and I was honestly skeptical. 3 weeks in his pitching coach literally said "whatever you're doing, keep doing it." I will not question my wife on these things again.
Like · Reply · · 2 h
JM
Jim McBride
Thanks, mine arrived today! Starting the routine tonight before his bullpen tomorrow. He is 14 and the Georgia showcase is in 5 weeks.
Like · Reply · · 2 h
EH
Erik Hoffman
Hey Chris, you need to tell your brother about this before his son hits that showcase in May
Like · Reply · · 3 h
CB
Chris Bellamy
Already did. He ordered 3 jars that same night. He said this is the first thing he's seen in 4 months that makes him feel like he can actually DO something.
Like · Reply · · 2 h
PC
Phil Chen
Has anyone used this on a two-way player? My son pitches AND catches so the forearm takes load from both.
Like · Reply · · 3 h
TH
Tony Hinton
Yes, apply to both arms, especially after games where he played the field after pitching. My son is also a catcher and this changed everything for his throwdowns to second.
Like · Reply · · 2 h
MS
Mike Shearer
The pitching coach noticed before I did. "Looser than he's been since spring." That was week 3. My kid's got a verbal commit now. I'm not saying this cream got him the commit. I'm saying it got him back on the mound to earn it.
A dad with his arm around his 15-year-old pitcher son in a dugout, holding a jar of Bleue
Like · Reply · · 3 h
AG
Allison Grant
I ordered 3 jars for my 15 year old. He pitches in the Perfect Game underclass showcase next month. If this gets him through without the morning tightness I'll buy another 3.
Like · Reply · · 3 h
BK
Brian Kowalski
My son's travel coach specifically recommended Bleue by name at a parent meeting last week. I ordered that night.
Like · Reply · · 4 h
AT
Amanda Torres
After 4 weeks you can already see the first results. Son's warmup time dropped from 20 minutes to 4. Pitching coach pulled me aside wanting to know what I was doing.
Like · Reply · · 4 h
GN
Greg Neumann
My son had a sports med visit last month where the doctor said "shut down for 6 weeks." We started Bleue the next day and after 3 weeks the tightness is noticeably different. Still finishing the shutdown but this gives us something to actually DO.
Like · Reply · · 4 h
LW
Laura Wilde
Thanks, package arrived today! Starting tonight before his throwing session tomorrow.
Like · Reply · · 5 h
PM
Pat Morris
I was skeptical at first... bought a jar and was pleasantly surprised. This is worth the money. My son's bullpen coach noticed before I did. Two of the dads on our travel team ordered the same week after I told them.
Like · Reply · · 5 h
RB
Rachel Bremer
I absolutely love this cream, had to get one for my brother-in-law whose son just started travel ball at 11.
Like · Reply · · 5 h
HL
Hanna Lang
OMG, I was so glad they still had some today. Had to buy a jar right away before it sold out again like last restock.
Like · Reply · · 3 h
IM
Ian Montgomery
Just ordered. Got the Buy 2 Get 1 Free. Son is 13 and we are in the exact "fine during warmup, tight the next morning" cycle this article describes. Hoping for a different April than Luke's dad had.
Like · Reply · · 5 h
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