You might have seen your favourite players sitting in a bathtub full of ice post-game, but have you ever wondered why? This isn’t a post-game ritual but an effective therapy to decrease muscle soreness and enhance recovery.
Cold therapy has been around for decades and has been extremely effective and beneficial for several athletes from various fields. To understand how it works and its several benefits we have compiled this ultimate guide for you!
- What is an Ice Bath?
- How does it work?
- Benefits
- Side effects and risks
- Tips
- Conclusion
What is an Ice Bath?
While you get the clear picture from the name alone, the Ice bath is a cold water immersion cryotherapy that involves an individual sitting in cold, icy water for up to 10 minutes.
You can either have your whole body submerged in water up to your neck or isolate a specific part of your body. This is usually done after a bout of intense exercise or a professional sporting event.
The basic idea of an ice bath is that it slows down the blood flow in the body post-workout and then once you are warm the blood flow re-circulates at a quicker speed that helps in faster recovery and reduced inflammation.
How does it work?
Ice baths are typically between 10-15 Celsius and when your body is exposed to the cold temperatures your body has two immediate reactions:
- Vasoconstriction: this refers to constriction of blood vessels, which leads to reduced blood flow to the muscles and helps in reducing inflammation and swelling
- Muscle relaxation: the cold temperature relaxes the muscle fibres and reduces muscle spasms and soreness.
Once you are out of the ice bath and your body warms up the blood vessels rapidly dilate back to their original state which leads to increased blood flow to muscles that flush out metabolic waste such as lactic acid. It then helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to the muscles.
Ice bath continues to have anti-inflammatory effects post bath helping reduce any swelling or pain.
Benefits
· Regulates the body temperature
When players are having a game that lasts for more than an hour, in high temperatures they are bound to get overheated, or if you are exercising on an extremely hot or humid day you tend to fatigue too quickly, an ice bath can quickly help cool your body down post-workout.
A study conducted on the effects of cold water immersion for exercise-induced hyperthermia found that just 10 minutes spent in an ice bath with a temperature of 10-15 Celsius effectively treated exercise-induced hyperthermia. (1)
· Muscle Recovery
Ice baths are endorsed by A-list athletes like Lebron James, Andy Murray, Naomi Osaka and many more, for their ability to speed up recovery time significantly and decrease delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which is an excruciating muscle pain that begins post-workout.
A review suggested that intense exercise, whether it is heavy lifting, long workouts or repetitive exercises, causes microscopic tears in the muscle fibres, to which your body responds by increasing inflammation that leads to soreness that you feel after a day or two of the exercise. (2)
Another review of nine studies on CWI therapy concluded that it has a significant and positive effect on muscle soreness than passive recovery in regards to immediate and delayed effects. (3)
· Reduces Inflammation
Cold water immersion therapy has gained immense popularity due to its anti-inflammatory effects.
The concept of immersing your whole body after an intense workout to reduce inflammation is the same as icing your injuries to reduce swelling, in this case, you are targeting your whole body.
Just as icing your injuries reduces the swelling, the ice water helps prevent & reduce any inflammation or swelling that can occur in your body.
· Helps with Better Sleep
A good night’s sleep before a big game is just as important as practice, athletes need to be in the best state of mind to achieve maximum performance.
A study shows that elite athletes often struggle with poor quality and quantity of sleep in comparison to the general population. This affects their training and leads to stress anxiety, muscle soreness, overconsumption of caffeine and fatigue from travelling. Deep sleep is essential as it provides a restorative function to the body and helps to recover from fatigue by repairing processes and restoring energy. (4)
The body‘s temperature naturally drops while you are asleep, which is why a cooler room helps you sleep quickly. It is the same reason why ice baths can help improve your sleep quality.
Another study conducted on male endurance runners found that CWI reduced an uptick in brain activity during sleep and limb movements, which resulted in a positive effect on deep sleep. (5)
· Boosts Metabolism
Cold Water Immersion therapy stimulates the activation of brown fat, which leads to increased thermogenic reaction and energy expenditure, which has been found in people who regularly swim in winter or take ice baths.
There is an increased production of norepinephrine (regulates metabolism) during ice baths that can potentially improve glucose and insulin sensitivity, increase fat utilisation and prevent obesity.
Another effect of CWI that has beneficial results on metabolism is shivering, the process of your body returning to its natural temperature without any source of warmth can be extremely beneficial to boost metabolism.
· Improves Mental Health
CWI increases the production of norepinephrine levels that help in mobilising the brain for action and improving energy and attentiveness, which can be effective in treating the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Ice baths help decrease cortisol levels which could potentially reduce stress and enhance mental tolerance.
Side effects and risks
There could be potential side effects and risks to ice baths that include:
- Hypothermia
- Nerve damage
- Ice burn
- Cold shock
- Raynaud’s syndrome (turns your fingers blue or white in cold)
- Cold urticaria (hives as a reaction to cold water)
Tips
Some tips to help you draw an Ice bath
- Use a thermometer to check water and ensure it isn’t too cold
- The water temperature should be between 10 Celsius to 15 Celsius
- Keep a towel or blanket next to your bath to wrap yourself immediately after you get out
- Wear light clothes before soaking to protect the skin
- Soak only for about 10-20 minutes
- For beginners it is recommended only to soak until your waist and as you get comfortable soak yourself up till your neck
- If it gets uncomfortable and painful get out early
Conclusion
Ice baths have several benefits ranging from helping muscle soreness to reducing inflammation. It can also help you sleep better and significantly improve your mood, it is recommended for people who do intensive workouts.
If you are a beginner, start by immersing only your waist and then move on to your whole body once you are comfortable. If you experience any discomfort or pain seek help from a professional health care provider.
FAQ
1. Are ice baths good after a hard workout?
Yes, an ice bath after a hard workout will help reduce muscle soreness, and inflammation and improve blood flow that can prevent any injuries.
2. Should I ice it after a hard workout?
Yes, it is recommended that you take an ice bath after a hard and intensive workout to reduce inflammation and improve muscle recovery.
3. Are ice baths good for muscle repair?
Yes, ice baths are good for muscle repair as they constrict the blood vessels temporarily preventing inflammation and the blood flow after getting out helps in quicker recovery.
4. Do bodybuilders take ice baths?
Yes, bodybuilders take ice baths as part of their recovery routine.
5. How can I speed up my muscle recovery?
You can speed up muscle recovery by taking ice baths post-workouts.
