Cold Exposure Therapy: Ice Bath Helpful or Just a Fad?

More and more have tried ice baths due to claims that they benefit one's health. Experts spoke up, and here's what they say.

Is Ice Bath Helpful and Effective?

Many do ice baths after hearing the benefits of cold exposure therapy from some health and wellness experts. Olympic athletes and celebrities show off videos immersing themselves in icy water.

The term "cryotherapy," or cold exposure therapy, describes the application of low temperatures to treat or improve a patient's health or a medical problem or symptom. According to Jeffrey Kutcher, MD, a neurologist specializing in sports medicine at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, it involves 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit water temperatures, with some circumstances requiring even lower temperatures as low as 38 degrees. Several cold water exposure regimens with varying frequency and duration are employed for various circumstances and settings.

While a cold shower to start the day could help you wake up, "cold water therapy" refers to using cold water to promote health. Dr. Kutcher claims that cold water therapy acts on tissues directly and indirectly by stimulating the nervous system.

"The goal of cold water therapy is to affect or modulate basic metabolic or biologic processes, such as inflammation, pain, and autonomic nervous system control," Dr. Kutcher explained. "It can be used to help recover from strenuous exercise, reduce problematic inflammation, improve control of mood disturbances, and [manage] sensory regulation that can help reduce the effects of pain syndromes such a migraine."

The vagus nerve, one of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves that travel down both sides of the body and communicate with most of the organs along the way, has received much attention lately concerning cold water therapy. To help the body relax during stressful periods, the vagus nerve also stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which decreases blood pressure, speeds up breathing and heart rate, and encourages digestion. Many viral social media articles assert that stimulating the vagus nerve with various forms of cold water therapy will lower anxiety and improve sleep quality.

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Cold Water Immersion Warning

While there are reported benefits, ice bath therapy is not for everyone. Ice baths have been linked to non-freezing cold injuries. It's common for hands and feet to feel numb and cold when exposed to the cold. Rewarming can cause tingling or pain.

Normal feelings return in a few minutes for most people. However, due to nerve and blood vessel damage, people with non-freezing cold injuries may have pain, altered feelings, and cold sensitivity after immersing in cold water for an extended period. These symptoms may last for years.

Furthermore, the way that various bodies react to cold water varies. People from the Caribbean and Africa are more vulnerable to non-freezing cold injuries. As a result, no two persons experience cold water therapy at the same risk.

Consult your physician before beginning cold water therapy if you are thinking about it. Don't try to do it by yourself. Make sure you have company and ensure that the water is safe to swim in if you're doing it outside, considering the tides, currents, pollution, and jellyfish population.