For centuries, professional athletes have been submerging in ice baths to reduce inflammation.
Recently, that practice has expanded from athletes to just about anyone looking to improve their health but like many with natural remedies, the popularity is outpacing the data on what it does to your body.
The more recent spike in interest is thought to be derived from Wim Hof, who’s best known for withstanding freezing temperatures while swimming and hiking.
Now people, like Jessica St. John in Bellaire, are plunging into ice water.
“It takes your breath away,” she said. “Even before you get in, you have to kind of like, mentally amp yourself up.”
St. John plunges into an ice bath to get the benefits of reduced inflammation and claims to get a rush of dopamine after getting out. She was in the ice bath for five minutes the day she spoke with KPRC.
Her husband, Scott Weaver, said he took time to understand what he was getting into before taking the plunge and he’s glad he did!
“The more I read on it, the more convinced I was that it was probably a great thing for me. I’m an active person. I run a lot,” Weaver explained. “As I’ve gotten older... I have a longer time to recover and so I thought this would also benefit me there.”
The couple protects toes from frostbite. They submerge into water just above 40-degrees. Each aiming to do this four to ten minutes a day, respectively.
They said this gives them energy, a boost in mood, reduced inflammation and overall, a feeling of wellness.
Sports Medicine Dr. David Braunreiter with Houston Methodist Sugar Land said cold therapy can help people but the research on why it helps is limited.
“I don’t think we have enough data to say that it doesn’t work or that it does. I think we’re still kind of in the middle on that,” Dr. Braunreiter said.
Braunreiter explained when you’re in cold water, inflammation decreases, which is believed to be associated with all kinds of disease and aging complications.
“Once you step out of the cold, your body temperature body recognizes the warmer temperature around it. The blood circulation comes back out. So supposedly that’s to help with delivering better oxygen to the other organs in your system into the extremities,” Braunreiter said. “The other theory is that being cold causes you to shiver, and that shivering generates energy, which supposedly increases your metabolism; and the thought is that maybe that metabolism increase remains persistent beyond the ten minutes that you’re in the tub.”
Weaver and St. John said the plan is to keep doing this several days a week, if not more.
“I feel great when I’m working out, great when I’m running. I haven’t gotten sick yet this year, so knock on wood,” St. John said.
If you plan to try this: talk to your doctor if you have a chronic condition. Dr. Braunreiter said people with diabetes, heart disease and neuropathy should not do this as you can put your extremities in danger.
However, a healthy person can build tolerance gradually, starting with just a couple minutes at a time. Don’t stay submerged for more than 10 or 15 minutes to avoid complications.
After cold therapy, change out of wet clothes to put on dry, warm layers. Do not immediately jump into a hot shower, the extreme change in temperature can actually burn your skin.