Ice Baths: Can someone explain to me what they do, proper tempurature, duration and how often tehy should be used

Ice baths are great for recovery. The cool water increases bloodflow to the legs and therefore decreases recovery time in between workouts. Most people suggest temperatures between 50-60 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Also, the quicker you are able to get into the icebath after a run or workout will speed the recovery process.

I know teammates who religiously use the ice bath every day and some who only use it after workouts. It's all about personal preference...try it and see what works/feels best for you. Also, purchase a pair of aqua socks or footies if you use the icebath consistently. Heat escapes from the extremities, so by keeping your feet warm the bath will feel much more comfortable.

"The cool water increases bloodflow to the legs"

Please explain this phenomena!

3schoolsn3semesters wrote:

The cool water increases bloodflow to the legs and therefore decreases recovery time in between workouts.

This is absolute nonsense. Cool water most definitely does not increase blood flow to the legs.

Regarding ice baths in general - completely unnecessary. Plenty of us have never been injured and have never done an ice bath.

Plus, what a ridiculous waste of water.

Ice baths really do speed up recovery. Are they necessary for recovery? No, but it's good to submerse your lower body into it after runs. What exactly goes on? I don't know, it just makes me feel good.

55F for 10 minutes is the preferred range for most people. Some will say go down to the 40s, but that's really not necessary, and any longer than 10 minutes is longer than necessary. Again, I don't know the scientific facts for why 55F and 10 minutes are the right time, it's just what everybody suggests.. and it works for me.

Routine icing of normal soreness is controversial. Without going into a lot of technical physiological details, cold decreases inflammation and pain. The controversy lies in the fact that inflammation is one of the early and necessary stages of healing. To the extent that inflammation is reduced, healing may be retarded (although it does seem to feel good as the pain is deadened.)

Just watch out for Sharon sneaking ice in the back of your shorts. I hate a frozen wheelhouse.

Doc Runner wrote:

Routine icing of normal soreness is controversial. Without going into a lot of technical physiological details, cold decreases inflammation and pain. The controversy lies in the fact that inflammation is one of the early and necessary stages of healing. To the extent that inflammation is reduced, healing may be retarded (although it does seem to feel good as the pain is deadened.)

Disagree.

While inflammation may be initially helpful in the first 2-3 days, inflammation slows and prevents healing by causing harm to the area.

The same principles for spot-icing apply to stepping into an ice bath, with the added bonus of not having to contour ice packs to the shape of your body. Let the water do the work! The cold reduces swelling and increases blood flow to the area, increasing the rate at which toxins are removed and damage can be repaired. An above poster contested this fact.

Your legs get submerged in cold water, your brain says "oh shit, its cold down there, but warm up here, better do something about that", and opens capillaries in your cold parts so that the heat differential evens out. Obvious proof of this effect is your RED skin when you step out of the bath. That's blood!

I prefer a jet to moving around. With cold muscles, I'm a bit wary of too much motion aggravating what I'm trying to fix. If you and the water remain still, your hair will maintain a layer of water around your skin that is slightly warmer than the water.

dude, no disrespect but please tell me youre still in elementary school to explain your answer. Your blood vessels clamp down in response to cold. The redness you might see after an ice bath is porbably a combo of some minor cold-indiced burn of the skin if youve been in too long and a compensatory dilation of your vasculature to try to restore blood flow to a heretofore clamped down area.

Chris Wasnetsky wrote: What exactly goes on? I don't know, it just makes me feel good.

This is about as close as you're going to get to a legitimate answer. There is a TON of controversy in the world of exercise physiology about whether ice baths are good or bad, how hot or cold, how long, whether you should take a hot shower after, etc, etc, etc. But at the end of the day, you're going to have to try it for yourself. If you feel like you are less sore and more recovered after an ice bath, then great! Go for it. Try it colder, warmer, shorter, longer, if you want to. ~55F for 10min is a good starting point. Why? I dunno.

If an exercise physiologist came along with a study that said you should stop doing doubles because they are bad for your body, would you stop? I would hope not. Once you find what works for you, do it!

hahahahaha OTL

Studies? I understand that cold interferes with nerves transmitting of pain. I use them, but I'm not sure if they speed up recovery.Anyone know beyond circumstantial evidence?

What type of hormonal changes are there for exposing yourself to cold water?

Increased cortisol?

Is that why swimmers generally carry more bodyfat?

3schoolsn3semesters wrote:

Ice baths are great for recovery. The cool water increases bloodflow to the legs and therefore decreases recovery time in between workouts. Most people suggest temperatures between 50-60 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Also, the quicker you are able to get into the icebath after a run or workout will speed the recovery process.

I know teammates who religiously use the ice bath every day and some who only use it after workouts. It's all about personal preference...try it and see what works/feels best for you. Also, purchase a pair of aqua socks or footies if you use the icebath consistently. Heat escapes from the extremities, so by keeping your feet warm the bath will feel much more comfortable.

Wear a hoodie--far better than attempting to keep your feet warm (my experience).

Also, I would not go immediately into the ice bath. Let body temp return close to normal. Would not want to induce heart arrythmias with a sudden drop in temp.

Big fan of ice baths for reasons noted elsewhere in terms of reducing inflammation and speeding recovery although the research is very limited (and some studies used extremely short immersions).

As with a lot of things, it will probably work for some and not everyone. If it works for you, then do it. If you do not see a benefit, do not bother.

antitrollism wrote:

dude, no disrespect but please tell me youre still in elementary school to explain your answer. Your blood vessels clamp down in response to cold. The redness you might see after an ice bath is porbably a combo of some minor cold-indiced burn of the skin if youve been in too long and a compensatory dilation of your vasculature to try to restore blood flow to a heretofore clamped down area.

The way I had it explained to me was that the ice bath does indeed cause the veseels to tighten. This forces the blood out of the veins, so when you get out of the ice bath blood that is not so saturated with lactic acid flows into your legs so there isn't a buildup.

Dummy-O wrote:

The way I had it explained to me was that the ice bath does indeed cause the veseels to tighten. This forces the blood out of the veins, so when you get out of the ice bath blood that is not so saturated with lactic acid flows into your legs so there isn't a buildup.

ARRRRGH! They get dumber and dumberer every year.

Seriously you have this all wrong. Capillaries DO NOT open when exposed to cold. Capillaries have no muscle and do not change diameter. They do not open or close, at least no the ones in muscel, in humans.

Blood flow to the limbs is controlled by arterioles and artries. The effect (of the cold) is neurally mediated but the effect is to decrease blood flow by increased sympathetic tone. That's a branch of the nervous system. Now this idea of increasing blood flow is just garbage.

And the Doc is right regular icing of a nagging injury is controverial and it might impair the normal healing process. Most of you should just answer I don't know but it feels good.

Stop talking out your butts!!

So the idea here is that increasing blood flow to the limb will get rid of the lactic acid? I guess in principal increased flow would expidite lactate removal. Not lactic acid because lactic acid does not "build up" becuase it is a strong acid and at the normal pH of the musccle is will be deprotonated so it would be lactate.

I assume this is what that genius was thinking when they said it forces blood out of the veins and when you get out there is now a pressure gradient across the vasculature arteriole to venus and this would result in a increase in blood flow.

Well guess what, taking a brief slow walk willl increase blood flow to your legs 10 to 12 fold over resting. If the increase in blood flow is the effect you are going for a slow walk will do the trick.

Futhermore blood lactate levels, notice I wrote lactate not lactic acid, will return to resting values pretty quickly following even a very intense bout of exercise may be 30 minutes or 45 at most.

Good thread... enjoyed the exchange of ideas and viewpoints. There's an essay on my website on this topic that will contribute some thoughts... check www.garycohenrunning.com in the "All in a Day's Run" area. It's on July 29th. Additional ice therapy is always an ice cold beer...