Cold plunging has become a popular form of recovery in recent years. There is an emerging body of research concerning cold plunging’s benefits. How exactly does it work? And what are its benefits?
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“Water can cure everything”
This is a quote from On Airs, Waters, and Lands by Hippocrates written sometime between the 5th or 4th century BCE. Hippocrates wrote about the medicinal and pain-reliving benefits of cryotherapies during this time, but the earliest mentions of it can be dated to 3500 BCE in the Edwin Smith Papyrus.
“Cryo” derives from the Greek word “kyros” which translates to “icy cold”, hence cryotherapy translates to icy cold therapy. It is recommended to ice bath between 10 to 15 degrees Celsius and to start by immersing yourself for 30 seconds to a minute and then work up to 5 to 10 minutes. Studies have found that cold plunging helps to reduce inflammation and soreness, relieving immediate pain caused by exercise, and helping cool internal temperature after intense workouts
There have been small studies that show cold plunging has positive benefits for mental well-being and metabolic health.
How does it work?
To understand why cold plunging helps relieve aches and pains, we need to know what causes it. When you workout, your muscles experience many micro-traumas and tears. This causes your cells to regenerate as stronger and more resilient to training: growing muscle. This causes soreness and also explains why there can be a 12 to 72-hour delay in feeling it after a workout.
What causes muscle soreness: when you workout, your muscles experience micro-traumas and tears. This causes your cells to regenerate as stronger and more resilient to training. This causes the soreness and also explains why you may not feel sore until 12 to 72 hours after working out.
Cold plunging is a helpful recovery technique because it helps reduce muscle inflammation and hence reduces soreness. It is believed that cold water may restrict your blood vessels. This offers immediate relief for your aches. Then when you are ready to get out, your body will begin to warm up causing your muscles to relax because blood circulation is increasing.
What to be aware of
Cold plunging has shown promising results, although, much of the research is in its infancy and more randomized and wide-scale trials need to be conducted. It is always best to speak with an expert before starting to ensure that it is appropriate for your training regimen.
And it is always best done in moderation. Research is starting to show that plunging every day can compromise long-term training improvements, especially concerning strength training, although it has not shown any effects on endurance training. This makes sense as applying cold right after a workout could hinder the muscles’ ability to rejuvenate. Therefore, you can always delay your cold exposure to 24 or 48 hours after working out. This allows for your muscles to go through their natural regenerative process and still relieves soreness. Furthermore, make sure that you’re using it to relieve aches, not pains. This is when understanding your body’s preferences is important.
At InnerFlow, our functional spa houses a cold plunge that sits at 5 to 8 degrees Celsius. This relaxing yet productive recovery space is the optimal environment to begin your cold plunge journey.
