United States: Cold showers or plunges after trainings are trending now, especially among celebrities.
However, new small research finally reveals that recreational athletes are more effective when immersed in a hot tub rather than a cold tub, particularly in case breaks within workouts such as the halftime in football or soccer games, as stated at the 2024 Integrative Physiology of Exercise Conference held in University Park, Pennsylvania, as reported by NBC News.
Muscles are composed of muscle fiber, and when you exercise very hard, the muscle fiber get break or damaged, while hot water promotes blood flow which helps the muscles rebuilt and become stronger as said by the study director Mamoru Tsuyuki, a master’s student in sports and health science at Ritsumeikan University in Shiga Japan.
The Science Behind Hot Water Benefits
“Also, increasing muscle temperature is going to help improve power output,” Tsuyuki told NBC News in a Zoom call. “When you need to perform twice on the same day, such as in sports that have a halftime, heat is better. During the 15 or 20 minutes, if you can immerse yourself in hot water, you can probably perform better in the second half.”
Point taken, said Tsuyuki, but it’s not to say that there is no merit in icy soaks, for other similar tests also suggest that it lessens muscle stiffness. Furthermore, ice is better in case of an injury.
Tsuyuki said that in the future, he would like to read more articles outlining the pros and cons of using both temperature soaks.
“We used endurance running, but the results might be different with other types of exercise,” he added.
Why is a hot soak better?
In order to define the consequences of hot and icy soaks, Tsuyuki and colleagues involved nine young males for a three-stage study.
The men ran at 90-percent effort for 50 minutes on a treadmill at randomly assigned intensities, then rested in a 59-degree tub; a 104-degree tub; or sat surrounded by water and not in the tub.
In the present study, all 10 men had gone through all the three conditions successively.
Similar post-workout movements on a vertical jump test from standing and squatting positions were obtained from the study volunteers an hour to the initial workout. The vertical jump performance of the men was lower after cold soak compared to that of hot soak.
The muscle soreness of the men did not change whether they took a cold shower or a hot shower.
Cold Soaks: Not Without Merit
“Ice baths are super trendy,” said Aimee Layton, an associate professor of applied physiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. And “when you have an injury with heat and inflammation, the cold feels good. If you sprain an ankle, you want to put ice on it.”
However, if you aren’t hurt and simply had a rigorous exercise session, cold can be a problem, according to Layton. “It reduces blood flow to the area affected and can cause muscles to become rigid,” she said.
According to Layton whenever you engage in vigorous exercises, the muscles are broken down into tiny fibers – micro-tears. “It’s what communicates to the body that it requires more muscle mass in the region for the future use,” she said. ‘It is interesting to note that hot water can increase blood circulation and spur the healing process.
The temperature question can be challenging,” said Dr. Spencer Stein, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery in NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and a sports medicine specialist. “I wouldn’t write off cold baths,” Stein said. “However, there are researches that proved that one can reduce soreness after a workout by taking cold baths.”
However, “my experience with pro teams is that they like warm baths before games,” he said. “Well, if there’s a halftime, they don’t go for the cold shower.”
Why Preferences Matter
What temperature of water is best for an athlete depends on many parameters, declared David Putrino, director of rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Health System in NYC. Each affects the blood flow to the muscles although exercise can enhance the nitrate levels in the body.
Hot water enhances blood circulation, and as a result a body can remove wastes that come with exercising, according to Putrino. Cold, however, can increase blood flow in some athletes by merely stimulating the fight or flight response.
But then the lovers is where the nuance comes in.
“If an athlete hates to be dumped into an ice bath and clenches up and starts shivering, you get the opposite effect,” Putrino said. “Someone who doesn’t mind the cold can relax into an ice bath.”
There are people who like to do the cold plunges because they are able to feel energized when they exit the water, Putrino added. “Once they get out, their body is flooded with endorphins, the feel-good chemicals, and they get an immense rush of energy,” he said.
For a hot water soak, Putrino suggests:
- From 10 to 20 minutes with the temperature in ranges from 98 to 104 degrees F.
- The optimal amount of time for ice water immersion is:
- At temperatures of 50-59 degrees it should take 10 to 15 minutes.
- First timers can find 5 minutes to be very relaxing if they have never attempted the cold soak before.
Try cold or hot and document which soak temperature allows an individual to feel better quicker, Putrino revealed, as reported by NBC News.
