1 minute read
THERAPY
According to medical professionals and holistic enthusiasts, exposing your body to cold water causes the blood vessels in submerged areas to contract, which directs blood to your organs. Additionally, cold water exerts pressure on the body, increasing blood flow to major organs like the lungs, brain, and heart. When this happens in our body, the blood gathers more nutrients and oxygen. Then when we emerge, the same blood vessels that tighten, expand. When this happens, the now nutrient-rich blood gets pumped back to your tissues, helping eliminate waste products like lactic acid and lowering inflammation. Regularly practicing cold water therapy also has long-term benefits for your heart and blood vessels. Around our blood vessels are muscles, and similarly to doing a bicep curl to build your arms, cold water therapy strengthens your blood vessels. As a result, our circulation may boost by improving our vessels’ ability to circulate blood through our body.
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Benefits of cold-water therapy include:
• MUSCLE RECOVERY: Taking an ice bath after a tough workout helps speed up muscle tissue recovery and reduce soreness.
• PAIN RELIEF: Cold water therapy is essential in physical therapy settings because it lowers inflammation and pain among people with chronic pain.
• IT BOOSTS YOUR MOOD: Taking a dip in cold water may temporarily improve your mood. Research shows that immersing ourselves in cold water leads to a 250% increase in dopamine.
Cold water therapy generally helps individuals with chronic pain and people that are injured, but because it can be so stressful on the vessels and heart, people with circulatory, heart, or blood pressure issues should not attempt cold water therapy without speaking to their doctor.
If you need a quick mood boost or need to recover after an intense workout session or game, cold water therapy methods like ice baths might help bring you right back. Remember that cold water therapy interferes with the normal recovery process and that it may blunt strength and muscle gains if done after every workout. Take ice baths sparingly—once or twice a week or after competitions and intense training.
