The benefits of an ice bath for athletes are widely recognized in the fitness world. Athletes use ice baths to reduce inflammation, muscle soreness, and improve recovery after intense workouts.
Ever felt the sharp chill of ice cold water shoot up your leg as you dip your toes in cold water? Well, imagine submerging your entire body in that instantly! Athletes do it all the time, and no, they aren’t crazy. They do it for a good reason.
For many years, ice baths have been a remedy to assist athletes in avoiding or reducing the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness. While it may feel like torture when you first get into the bath, the rejuvenating and refreshing feeling afterward is well worth the torture. That said, is taking an ice bath worth it, or are there other better treatments?
What we know about ice baths
Ice baths have been around for decades; they aren’t a new thing. However, studies are still underway regarding their effectiveness and impact on the human body in different conditions. Here’s what we know so far.
Much of the research done into cold water immersion (CWI) for athletes has been done on the basis of how it benefits an athlete post-workout. Currently, there is a debate underway that rests on research presented in 2017 that suggests CWI actually has little to no positive impact on speeding up the recovery process of athletes. As you can imagine, this contradicts much of the previous research on the topic.
Most experts in the field agree that there is still a lot of research to be done on CWI and contrast therapy as a whole. However, they have found that cold water immersion certainly reduces the blood lactate concentration, which reduces the lactate levels in your blood, assisting recovery, and that it improves blood circulation, which has several benefits in and of itself. Let’s take a look at some of these benefits.
Key Benefits of an Ice Bath for Athletes
Depending on who you talk to, some experts might refer you to other activities that may offer similar benefits to taking a dip in cold plunge pools. That said, we suggest considering the advantages first:
Reduces delayed onset muscle soreness
One of the main benefits of an ice bath for athletes is its ability to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) after strenuous activity. We’ve all experienced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) at some point. DOMS is caused by intense exercise that leaves your body feeling sore once it’s settled down. Staking an ice bath has been proven to reduce muscle soreness and limit pain.
Reduces inflammation
When you twist your ankle or hurt yourself, which causes inflammation, the first thing you’re told to do is to get some ice on it. This is because the ice cools the area, slowing the blood flow and causing the blood vessels to constrict, limiting the volume of blood that can travel in that area. As a result, inflammation is reduced.
Rapidly cools your body
During a workout session, our body temperature climbs, making us feel hot and uncomfortable. When you hop into an ice bath directly after a workout, the initial temperature will rapidly decrease your body temperature, speeding up your cooldown time while shocking your body into releasing adrenaline to maintain a good core temperature.
Improves your mood
The shock to your body when you have an ice bath releases adrenaline, which causes your heartbeats to increase, attempting to pump blood to the rest of your body sooner to keep you warm. With the increased blood flow, the oxygen and other nutrients are carried around the body faster, improving your recovery and mood.
Increases blood circulation
Now, you might find this interesting, but an ice bath improves your blood flow. You might be thinking, but doesn’t cold constrict atoms, essentially narrowing the blood vessels? In basic terms, cold causes the body to tighten. However, the shock to the system that an ice bath brings kicks you into fight or flight mode, causing your adrenaline levels to spike and your blood vessels to dilate. This allows a greater volume of blood to pump at a time, thus improving your circulation.
Side effects of ice baths
Aside from being extremely cold for a bit, taking an ice bath would present certain risks to people who already have preexisting conditions, particularly regarding blood circulation and conditions to do with the cardiovascular system.
How Athletes Can Maximize the Benefits of an Ice Bath
Here are some tips to help you take an ice bath:
- It would be best if you spent no longer than 10 to 15 minutes in the ice bath
- If you’re not comfortable with an ice bath, gradually introduce your body to it, starting with your feet
- The best time for you to have an ice bath is straight after your workout or match
- Make sure that you have a towel and clothes to put on as soon as you get out of the bath to assist your body in rewarming itself
While there are alternative recovery methods, the benefits of an ice bath for athletes make it a popular choice for post-workout recovery.
Final Thoughts
While it may be uncomfortable at first, evidence suggests that an ice bath can ease muscle pain, reduce inflammation, cool down the body, and strengthen the body’s ability to face strenuous situations. So, we’d say yes, taking an ice bath is worth it for athletes, especially those who need to recover faster so they can train more regularly.
