Many athletes like to jump into an ice bath after a workout to cool down. Cold water immersion, also called cryotherapy, is used to help athletes recover faster and reduce muscle cramps and soreness after intense training or competitions. You must be aware of ice bath benefits for athletes, but there are other benefits of ice bath, also. Some athletes also use contrast water therapy, switching between cold and warm water to get the same effect.
Professional rugby and football players and top runners often take an ice bath after a workout to help their bodies recover. Like many things, it is good to ask if this works. Check out what research says about the risks and ice bath benefits or contrast water therapy after exercise. Read further to also learn about how to take ice baths safely.
Theory Behind benefits of Ice Bath
The idea behind the ice bath benefits is that intense exercise causes tiny tears in your muscle fibers, called microtrauma. This minor damage to the muscles is actually what exercise is supposed to do. It stimulates muscle cell activity, which helps repair the damage and build stronger muscles (muscle hypertrophy). But it is also linked to delayed onset muscle pain and soreness (DOMS), which happens 24 to 72 hours after exercise. Blood vessels get smaller when you take an ice bath, and waste products like lactic acid are flushed out of the affected tissues. It slows down metabolic activity and other processes in the body. It also stops swelling and the breakdown of tissues.
Benefits of Ice Bath
1. Speeding Metabolism
When you swim in cold water or take a bath in cold water, your body has to work considerably harder to maintain its normal temperature, and as a result, you burn calories much more quickly. It is more difficult for your body to convert fat into usable energy when the water temperature is lower. It is among the best benefits of ice bath.
2. Better Sleep
Getting better sleep can also come from swimming in cold water and ice baths often. Cold water wakes our parasympathetic nervous system, which helps our bodies rest and heal. It also makes us feel calm, which helps us sleep.
3. Boosting Immunity
A "cold water shock" happens to your body when you immerse yourself in cold water or take a bath in cold water. It can stimulate the immune system by increasing the synthesis of white blood cells and antioxidants in the body. It is among the best benefits of ice bath. These are essential to stave off various ailments, from the common cold to cardiovascular disease.
4. Improves Circulation
When we take an ice bath or swim in cold water, our body temperature changes quickly; it tells our heart to pump more blood to our organs. Some of the other benefits of ice bath is that it makes our circulation better and helps flush toxins out of our bodies, which makes our skin look healthy. The increased blood flow also helps flush out waste and reduces muscle inflammation, which is why many athletes take an ice bath after a hard workout.
5. Stress Management
Regular swimming in cold water can help us deal with different kinds of stress better because our bodies learn to control stress hormones like dopamine. Your body tells your heart to beat faster, which helps heat your body and gives you more energy.
6. Sore Muscle Relief
Putting your muscles in ice-cold water can make them feel better for longer. When you work out hard, you sweat a lot, which lowers your body temperature. This is among the best benefits of ice bath. It slows down the flow of blood, which helps reduce swelling in the tissues and relieves pain right away. These ice bath benefits for athletes are confirmed by many sportsmen also.
Benefits of Ice Bath
How To Take Ice Baths Safely?
- Before you jump into the freezing water, you should talk to your primary care doctor. It is especially important if you are sensitive to the cold or have other health problems.
- A cold shower is a great way to get both your mind and body moving. You will have a better idea of how your body will react to the cold on a more local level, which will help you handle your reactions better in the future.
- Consider how well you can deal with the cold. It is fine to start with a temperature of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and then slowly lower it. It is also fine to start with a time limit of 30 seconds to one minute and slowly increase it to two or ten minutes.
- We suggest anywhere from two to ten minutes, but it is fine to start with just one or two minutes until you get used to taking ice baths.
Risks Of Ice Baths
1. Heart Stroke Or Cardiac Arrest
Ice can make the blood vessels narrow and slow down the flow of blood through the body. So, people with heart disease or high blood pressure that further leads to fatigue, are more likely to have a stroke or die from their heart if they take an ice bath. It is among the major risks of ice baths.
2. Avoid In Case Of An Open Wound Or Recent Surgery
If you soak an open wound or an area where you have had surgery in an ice bath, bacteria from other parts of your body can get into the wound and make it more likely to get sick.
3. Hypothermia
The risk of developing hypothermia increases with time spent submerged in the ice. Because an ice bath includes such dramatic temperature swings, people with diabetes types 1 and 2 cannot keep their internal body temperature stable while participating in the activity.
Conclusion
When using ice baths to help heal, moderation is very important. Putting it in ice baths all the time can make it less effective. Scientists haven't found much physical evidence to support whether or not the ice bath theory is true, but some athletes find an ice bath healing. So, it's important to follow the rules and think carefully about whether or not an ice bath is right for your body and how well you can handle it. We thank you for staying till the end, and we hope you got all your answers related to the benefits of ice bath.
