Hello friends~
It’s been HOT, hot, hot here in Asbury Park, and it was even hotter way north in New Hampshire, where we were visiting with grandkids. Pretty much everywhere in the US, and Europe is roasting.
So let’s get into cold therapy – cooling off as a brief antidote.
If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve had some experience with cold therapy for injury or inflammation.
For a while I had a business relationship with a guy who had a cryotherapy chamber in his facility, and a lovely infrared sauna at the back of the building. I much prefer feeling warm than cold…
He recommended that cryo would help with muscle repair after hard training, and as I was seriously training for cycling racing, so I did some research and wanted to be open to learning personally about the effects of cold therapy.
Over the ensuing weeks I had about 6 excruciatingly cold 3 minute sessions at -202°F to -321°F, my bones literally chattering. I hurled myself into the sauna immediately. afterward.
He taught me to operate the cryo tank and so I could set up clients, but all those dials, the responsibility, and fear of freezing someone to death scared me so much I made myself scarce when someone came into the facility requesting it.
Setting aside my lifelong personal low tolerance for cold water (cold in general, but ok as long as I’m moving), research suggests that cold therapy can be beneficial for types of arthritis, MS, mental health/mood, weight loss, and immune support, and the science is still evolving. And of course there are influencers selling cryotherapy for reduction of cellulite – ladies, we know there is always that.
There’s recent science about chronic inflammation and aging. Aging well is always a key ingredient in the health journey for me and for my clients, so I want to stay open to cold therapies.
This weekend I plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in New Hampshire to show these little polar bear grandkids and their dad, my son, that Gami is a good sport. It felt numbingly cold at 65°F but it was downright tropical compared to the cryo tank. Exhilarating, a ton of fun, and I’m gonna believe it was also good for my aging brain!
Inflammation isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
This might surprise you – inflammation isn’t all bad – and it can actually be beneficial. It’s an adaptive response of the body, particularly acute inflammation – which just means sudden and short-lived.
Inflammation, when it functions normally, is a natural and helpful response by the body to protect us. Here’s a good NYTimes inflammation explainer. Acute (sudden and short) inflammatory response to an injury is your body’s defense mechanism. And by the way, icing to reduce inflammation can act as a barrier to the recovery process.
Like everything else, inflammation has become monetized. We’re inundated with products, supplements, and programs to fight it. The latest craze is personal ice bath tanks that can be as simple as a retrofitted livestock tank for a couple of hundred dollars, or something like this gorgeous wooden number for several thousands.
So it’s obvious that I wouldn’t be a fan of ice plunges, but I get it. And I’m trying. Here are 5 benefits of an ice bath (and how to take one safely)
An effective way to treat acute muscle/joint pain and inflammation is to alternate heat and cold, which is the way I’ve managed to therapeutically treat injuries on my own, and get through months at a time of PT for injuries over many years.
Side bar:
You may have heard about or been treated with RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) after an injury – there are new alternatives that may be more effective treatments for injuries and inflammation like alternatives to the RICE method.
Tell me whether you’re a polar bear, and love (or maybe just “bear -ly” tolerate) cold therapy, and whether it works for you.
x
Polli
