My kid's H.S. XC coach told all the kids to take an ice bath when they got home from the 1st day of practice.

My understanding is that using cold and hot (alternating) helps remove any waste products, and more importantly, brings in fresh, nutrient rich blood back into the legs to help promote healing. The inflammation isn't necessarily whats bad, as that is your body adapting to whatever is happening to it, but helping to speed up the process would, in theory, be beneficial. To me that's the logic behind cold/hot immersion.

And to the other poster that said this was the first he's heard of a pro runner taking an ice bath...

Lots of pros post about that stuff a lot. More often than not I see videos/stories of them climbing into naturally cold lakes or rivers after their runs.

If this isn’t a troll post- will soccer mom type parents please leave the board and instead do their thing at dyestat.

I sometimes take cold showers or baths then followed it up with a quick hot shower, works for me.

No. Cold will just slow the recovery process . It`s better with a warm bath or shower or footbath with soap massage.

I have had success using ice in the manner of baseball pitchers. Ice/cold treatment Achilles & ankle area post run and icing knees post run.

Name a waste product....

Alex Hutchinson at Sweat Science has written several blogs about ice baths. I encourage folks to read them. He does a great job of summarizing the literature.

Here is my take:

During the pre-season avoid ice baths. As others have noted it looks like it could inhibit the inflammation process. That process triggers a lot of the adaptations that we want from training.

Use them during the season or maybe just the latter part when you are trying to peak and fitness gains are much smaller. For instance, you want to be able to recover for the next workout and are less concerned with impeding the fitness gains as they are going to be smaller.

Luv2Run wrote:

Here is my take:

During the pre-season avoid ice baths. As others have noted it looks like it could inhibit the inflammation process. That process triggers a lot of the adaptations that we want from training.

Use them during the season or maybe just the latter part when you are trying to peak and fitness gains are much smaller. For instance, you want to be able to recover for the next workout and are less concerned with impeding the fitness gains as they are going to be smaller.

You said the same thing as me...?

our school systems AD wont let any team practice if temp goes over 82

They are practicing from 7-9 am. Temps are in the high 60s to low 70s. Here's a large review study. Seems like subjective benefit only, although there is something to be said for that.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586380/

Local ice wrote:

I have had success using ice in the manner of baseball pitchers. Ice/cold treatment Achilles & ankle area post run and icing knees post run.

Didn't tell them to do their homework?

In addition to only running at the ideal temperature, and ice baths only at the precise time in the season, make sure your coach and AD takes the team to Utah and/or New Mexico for high altitude training.

Do any of the posters here take NSAIDs to reduce inflammation associated with an overuse injury? Or do you just embrace the inflammation because it's good for you?

No, NSAIDS get in the way of hormones produced by the body.

For my kid it was epsom salt bath. What does that do?

You are lucky, the kids coach is on top of things, the wonders of magnesium sulfate.

Given the ocean of bad advice given to kids via really bad coaches throughout the US, if the worst thing he said was "take an ice bath", consider yourself lucky.

Check with your kid's Pediatrician. Unless your kid's coach is a doctor,tell him to stick to the running.