Ice Bath

[TripppleP]

I'm 38 and little chinks in my armor are starting to show. I consistently have been doing a weekly full body split since age 14. As I get older I tend to add more cardio to the mix as well. A combination of aches and pains add up throughout the week be it a stiff neck from a shoulder workout, a flare of lateral epicondylitis from a back/biceps workout, a flare of "sciatica" from leg day and most consistent for me is piriformis pain being I never skip legs and try to do cardio several days a week. I do a lot of stretching and other adjunct recuperation methods. I use ice on certain body parts and even find benefit from sitting on ice for my piriformis pain. Occasionally I seem to have multiple area that could benefit from using ice and I feel like just jumping in an ice bath some days.

A few months back Antoine posted on IG a huge tub he and his buddies would fill with ice and water and then jump in after workouts. I never used an ice bath in high school or college and don't have access to one now. But I was thinking like Antoine I could just buy ice at the gas station and toss it in my home shower/tub, lay in it for a few and then shower right after. Maybe do this here and there. I'm curious if anyone uses ice baths and what your thoughts are.

 

[M@NU]

i think i saw bumstead mentioning something similar but he explicitly stated he does the ice batch in the morning or on off days and not post workout because you want some inflammation post workout and ice baths would blunt this

 

[TheOtherOne55]

i think i saw bumstead mentioning something similar but he explicitly stated he does the ice batch in the morning or on off days and not post workout because you want some inflammation post workout and ice baths would blunt this

This.

I recently got tagged in a IG message about ice baths and the best time to use them.
The split was similar to what M@NU said....ice baths should be used mostly around injuries...not just because you're beat up or so. Realistically, you want some inflammation around body parts you worked out hard...it's part of the process for recovering and growing. So icing your legs after a heavy leg day, meh. MAYBE not the best. But icing beat up injured areas like you have OP, that makes much more sense. Basically, its really dependent on when and why you're icing.

 

[Bodyofwork365]

You might look into places that do cryotherapy as an alternative to ice baths. While I do like them, you’d be amazed at how quickly the cost adds up on enough bags of ice to fill your tub and make it effective. Last time I did one at home it was over $50 just in ice to fill my tub.

 

[M@NU]

You might look into places that do cryotherapy as an alternative to ice baths. While I do like them, you’d be amazed at how quickly the cost adds up on enough bags of ice to fill your tub and make it effective. Last time I did one at home it was over $50 just in ice to fill my tub.

may i ask what you guys in the US pay for it?
in germany it is a rather new trend and there are very few "cryotherapy centers". So distance is a problem but most of the time, 1 session which is around 7 minutes costs 29€ which is not very cheap imo?

 

[Bodyofwork365]

may i ask what you guys in the US pay for it?
in germany it is a rather new trend and there are very few "cryotherapy centers". So distance is a problem but most of the time, 1 session which is around 7 minutes costs 29€ which is not very cheap imo?

I have a place here that it’s a $49 membership per month, unlimited usage on cryo, normatec recovery sleeves, and massage chairs. Not sure what the average is throughout the rest of the US but I’d guess comparable.

 

[M@NU]

wow.. thats a steal..
why are you guys sitting here writing post instead of sitting on some massage chairs?

 

[heavyhitter]

Why are people still using ice for injuries? It’s Been proven over and over to be counterproductive to healing. The inventor of RICE has stated publicly that he wished he’d left ice out of RICE

 

[Virtuous]

wow.. thats a steal..
why are you guys sitting here writing post instead of sitting on some massage chairs?

You’re making the assumption he’s not typing this from his phone in the massage chair

 

[Skip503]

I have to agree with heavy hitter. Cold should not be used for injuries anymore. You want blood to circulate through the area to accelerate healing. Ice only for pain tolerance if necessary, not for healing.

 

[heavyhitter]

I have to agree with heavy hitter. Cold should not be used for injuries anymore. You want blood to circulate through the area to accelerate healing. Ice only for pain tolerance if necessary, not for healing.

Yep. Active recovery methods are much better. Voodoo floss, nerve innervations, trigger point release, SMR. The only thing I might use ice for would be contrast baths/showers

 

[TripppleP]

I have to agree with heavy hitter. Cold should not be used for injuries anymore. You want blood to circulate through the area to accelerate healing. Ice only for pain tolerance if necessary, not for healing.

Yep. Active recovery methods are much better. Voodoo floss, nerve innervations, trigger point release, SMR. The only thing I might use ice for would be contrast baths/showers

I have to politefully disagree. Ice is a great tool along with many others for healing. I have worked with spine and orthopedics for 16 years and would say ice is an unsung hero. Your thought process reminds me of the concept to avoiding NSAIDs as they can hinder muscle growth. Yet every patient who takes NSAIDs and goes to physical therapy still progresses despite this concept implying the contrary.

I am not saying to rely on ice as your only tool for recover but its a great way to reduce inflammation to lesser levels without totally negating the healing properties of inflammation.

 

[heavyhitter]

I have to politefully disagree. Ice is a great tool along with many others for healing. I have worked with spine and orthopedics for 16 years and would say ice is an unsung hero. Your thought process reminds me of the concept to avoiding NSAIDs as they can hinder muscle growth. Yet every patient who takes NSAIDs and goes to physical therapy still progresses despite this concept implying the contrary.

I am not saying to rely on ice as your only tool for recover but its a great way to reduce inflammation to lesser levels without totally negating the healing properties of inflammation.

Dick Hartzel respectfully disagrees with you

 

[TripppleP]

Dick Hartzel respectfully disagrees with you

And I respectfully disagree with Dick Hartzel then as I have watched patients and multiple doctors use ice on their patients for years with good results.

I also have worked with doctors whos philosophies completely contradict eachother yet they both have had very similar sucess rates. Plenty of ways to reach a common goal. And I appreciate hearing ideas and concepts that contradict my thought process as it allows me to learn.

 

[heavyhitter]

And I respectfully disagree with Dick Hartzel then as I have watched patients and multiple doctors use ice on their patients for years with good results.

I also have worked with doctors whos philosophies completely contradict eachother yet they both have had very similar sucess rates. Plenty of ways to reach a common goal. And I appreciate hearing ideas and concepts that contradict my thought process as it allows me to learn.

Dick Hartzel is the creator of jump stretch bands and voodoo flossing. His philosophy that seems to be being proven true more and more lately is that an injured joint or muscle needs to be moved through a pain free range of motion. He uses the compression bands to achieve this and seriously reduces the length of injuries. He states that ice is counterproductive to this

Expert Bio – Dick Hartzell “The Rubber Band Man”

CONTACT INFO 330.793.8712 [email protected] Dick Hartzell, known as the “Rubber Band Man”, invented Flex Band® exercise equipment and founded his company, Jump Stretch, Inc., in 1980. He held…

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[Muay Thai]

the science is it induces COLD SHOCK PROTEINS

it also induced NOREPINEPHRINE and NORADRENALINE output. Dr Mercola who was responsible for detoxing the 9/11 twin tower first responders would have all his patients do niacin pre workout > then charcoal pre sauna > then ice water after sauna to detox. the charcoal binds to the toxins being purged. Niacin is an extreme vasodilator and helps flush toxins