How Ice Barrel Therapy Boosts Muscle Recovery – Ice bath or ice barrel therapy is getting more common, especially among athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Jumping into an ice bath is usually done after physical activity. We can also try our ice barrel Bali after doing physical activities, such as water sports in Bali and enjoy the benefits of this therapy.
Potential Benefits of Ice Barrel Therapy
Although the study about ice baths is still limited, we should be more aware about some potential benefits that can be offered by ice barrel therapy. It is necessary to know whether it is worth plunging our body into the extreme cold, after all. Well, we can find some potential benefits of this therapy, especially if we work out a lot or even are professional athletes.
Among some potential benefits of ice bath therapy, the biggest benefit of this therapy is just to make our body feel good. Doing an intense workout will lead to sore and burning muscles that will not feel comfortable, at all. If we take the cold immersion, we can get relief from those uncomfortable feelings. It means that this therapy can boost our muscle recovery by easing aching and sore muscles.
Our central nervous system will also get the benefit of an ice bath. It can help us experience better sleep and we know that a good night’s sleep will help us reduce fatigue and feel better. If we are workout enthusiasts, this therapy can help improve our reaction time, as well as explosiveness during the future workout sessions.
According to a theory, decreasing the local temperature after working out can help limit inflammatory response. As a result, the amount of inflammation will get lower so we can recover faster.
Taking an ice plunge Bali can also reduce the effect of heat and humidity. Heat and humidity is not a new thing because of Bali climate and they can get worse due to our physical activities. During a long race for instance, our body temperature and humidity will get higher. By taking an ice bath therapy before the race, the temperature of our body can get lower and our performance can be improved.
Ice barrel therapy can also help us train our vagus nerve. Since this nerve is linked with the parasympathetic nervous system, we will be able to handle stressful situations better if our vagus nerve is properly trained.
Risks and Side Effects
Just like any other therapy, ice barrel therapy is not all about benefits. We also have to be aware of the risk and side effects of the therapy. What are side effects of ice barrel therapy?
The simplest side effect might be the very cold feeling when immersing our body in the cold water. Some people might not be able to handle the cold properly, after all, especially if we are living in a hot area.
We should also pay attention to the risks of taking an ice bath even for wellness recovery purposes. If we have pre existing high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, higher risks of taking an ice bath might be able to be found.
The blood vessels will be constricted due to the decrease of core temperature and immersion in extreme cold. As a result, the blood flow in the body will be slower. This circumstance can enhance the risk for stroke or cardiac arrest.
Since we will be immersed in the cold water, there will also be hypothermia risk, especially if we are in the cold water for too long.
We need to be more careful with this ice barrel therapy if we have type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If we have these conditions, it will be harder for our body to maintain core temperature during the therapy session since the temperature change is pretty extreme.
Ice Barrel Therapy Tips
Yes, we want to enjoy the benefits of ice barrel therapy, but we do not want to deal with the risk and side effects. In this circumstance, we need to follow some tips before immersing our body in the cold water.
First things first, we need to pay attention to the ice bath temperature. It must not be too cold to control the risks, but it must not be too warm to make sure that the therapy session can show its benefits. The recommended temperature for ice barrel therapy is about 10-15 degrees Celsius.
It is not good to spend too much time in an ice bath because we will not get the benefits of ice barrel therapy. That is why it is recommended to limit our time in the ice bath for 10-15 minutes only.
To get the best effect of blood vessel constriction, we need to dip our body entirely in the ice bath. However, to avoid the shock, we need to help our body adjust to the cold by exposing our feet and lower legs first before moving toward our chest.
Although we can take an ice bath at home, it is better to book cryotherapy Bali at AMO Spa to get professional support and facility to get the best result.