Article: Cold Therapy Health Benefits That Will Surprise You (MSN) RejuvCryo La Costa - Encinitas - Carlsbad
Cold Therapy Health Benefits That Will Surprise You
Ice baths have become a trend after famous basketball athletes were seen undergoing cold therapy whenever they got injured during games. Cold therapy provides health benefits such as pain relief, improved metabolism, a boost in the immune system and enhanced brain function and mood.
What Is Cold Therapy?
REJUV Med Spa in Encinitas & Carlsbad CA offers Cold therapy and it’s the process of treating injuries by subjecting the body to cold temperatures. Putting a cold compress on a sprained ankle is a simple form of this therapy. The princicple of this therapy is simple. When you cool the skin, it compels the body to exert more effort in maintaining its internal temperatures to continue functioning properly. It even increases the blood flow to the entire body.
An ice bath is one form of cold therapy. This is a process in which a person is required to dip their whole body or just a speecific part into a tub of water with ice-like temperature. This process reduces pain and hastens recovery from injuries. This method has been used since the 1700s and is more common among today’s athletes because they are more prone to injuries, as per Wellness Mama.
Below are some of the health benefits an ice bath provides:
Boosts Immune System
A clinical trial in the Netherlands claimed that people who took cold showers were 29 percent less likely to call off work than others. According to the study, which is published in the US National Library of Medicine, the results may indicate that cold therapy can improve the immune system’s functions by fighting colds. Moreover, cold exposure also increases leukocytes that protect the body against diseases.
Promotes Better Brain Function
Cold therapy also enhances mental focus since the process releases catecholamines in the body. It also activates the sympathetic nervous system and increases the production of endorphins that regulate a person’s mood. Additionally, it also increases noradrenaline in the brain that enhances a person’s focus. Since there are numerous cold receptors in the skin, cold showers send electric impulses to the brain. Scientists believe that this has an antidepressant effect.
Faster Recovery
There is actually a disparity when it comes to the ability of ice baths to promote faster recovery for injuries and the muscles after a workout. One sports medicine study maintained that submerging once body in an ice bath can help muscle repair because the activity increases tissue oxygenation.
On the contrary, a 2015 study maintained that while ice baths and other forms of cold therapy reduce pain and inflammation, they could also slow down the recovery process since inflammation is an important process that tells the body when it needs to do something in order for it to be stronger.
Despite this, many athletes still use cold therapy as a tool for recovery following an exercise. This is because the cold is believed to reduce swelling and lactic acid buildup, which typically leads to muscle soreness.