You just finished a long, exhausting run, and now you’re soaking in a just-as (OK, way more) brutal ice bath. Your teeth are chattering and, let’s be real, your nipples could cut the ice cubes that are floating around the tub.
But if a couple minutes of discomfort might help you recover, get more out of every training run, and sidestep injuries, it’s worth it, right?
While elite athletes have followed that train of thought for years now, post-workout ice baths are gaining popularity among weekend warriors and everyday runners trying to ramp up their training—and recovery—for their next race. Many training studios are now even offering cold-water immersion therapy (code word for ice baths) to their clients.
We wanted to know: Does the supposed remedy work? We talked to sports medicine experts and sifted through the research to find out.
Here’s how the ice bath looks: Immediately following a tough workout, you sit in a bathtub filled with a chilling mix of ice and water. In case you’re wondering, it’s usually cooled to roughly 50 degrees, and only your legs and hips are totally immersed. However, some people take things to the next level with hot/cold immersion therapy, switching back and forth between cold and hot (around 108 degrees) and again and again, finally ending with a good, cold soak.
“There are a lot of theories out there, but most have to do with exposure to cold temperatures constricting the blood vessels to the lower extremities,” Michael Jonesco, D.O., sports medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells SELF. “In theory, this would shunt blood away from the muscles to reduce the muscle cells’ inflammatory response, swelling, and pressure on pain receptors—potentially preventing fatigue, muscle soreness, and sports injuries.”
“Truth be told, who knows [if it works],” Jonesco says. The answer likely comes down to what exactly you’re trying to get out of your ice baths—and even then, the science doesn’t agree much.
For example, while one 2015 meta-analysis published in the journal PLoS One found there was no evidence that ice baths have any significant effect on recovery within the 96 hours following exercise, a 2016 review in the journal Sports Medicine concluded that ice baths might lessen muscle damage from total-body endurance and high-intensity interval training, but likely have little if any effect on improving recovery from strength-style workouts. In fact, some studies even suggest that ice baths might hinder gains in muscle strength and size because of the way they interrupt or delay the inflammation process—a process that's key for prompting muscle adaptions and changes.
The researchers in the Sports Medicine review explain that an ice bath’s beneficial effects seem to come down to reducing the amount of stress that sky-high core body temperatures place on the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. The stress requires these systems to work harder to keep the body functioning properly, so the thought is that reducing it can help prevent excessive muscle damage, curb inflammation, and help the body begin the process of exercise recovery. Since core temperatures and cardiovascular stressors are greater during endurance exercise and high-intensity cardio workouts compared to strength workouts, this could explain why ice baths might be better for some workouts than for others, Lev Kalika, D.C., clinical director of New York Dynamic Neuromuscular Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy, tells SELF.
Kalika adds that an ice bath’s ability to bring down excessively high core temperatures could be especially beneficial for runners in hot, extreme conditions who are at risk of overheating or suffering from heat stroke. While the body regulates and brings down its core temperature on its own, ice baths help do it faster than normal.
Another group that may get more out of ice baths include runners who have a couple races scheduled close together and need to recover, like, yesterday, Julie Khan, P.T., D.P.T., a physical therapist specializing in sports injuries at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, tells SELF. Despite the debates on the long-term benefits, simply icing sore muscles can help them feel better in the moment and reduce swelling—like using an ice pack. While Khan says she has personally used ice baths on occasion and says they have helped her “legs feel a little better after a long run,” she notes that the research is weak here, too.
“The data is up in the air, but I will tell you that with working with high-level and elite professional athletes, recovery doesn’t just deal with neuromuscular properties and objective statistical analysis, but a large part of recovery is also the neural or psychological perception of recovery,” Jonesco says. “What I mean is that if you look at some of the data that’s out there, cold water immersion can improve the perception of recovery, which may actually help the athlete recover faster and can aid in actual recovery.” Even if it's just mental, when feeling better helps you perform better the next day, that's worth something.
In fact, 2017 research published in the journal Temperature found that post-cooling techniques such as ice baths were effective at decreasing subjective—but not objective—ratings of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). And, according to Kalika, people who believe that ice baths work may stand to reap greater benefits than those who are skeptical.
Until researchers get their act together and can give us a clear “yes” or “no” on ice baths, the best way to figure out if they will work for you is to simply try them out, Khan says.
Immediately following your workout (ideally a long or particularly hard run), Jonesco recommends soaking your body from the hips down in a bathtub filled with 50-degree water. That’s the temperature that some studies have linked to improved recovery. Set your timer for 10 minutes or less, and know that colder temps and more time soaking do not mean better benefits.
“Longer durations of decreased blood flow to the lower extremities can actually lead to less gain in pain relief and potentially prolong neuromuscular recovery,” Jonesco says. After all, your muscles need some blood to recover, and while curbing excess inflammation might be beneficial, your body requires a certain amount of post-workout inflammation to kickstart the recovery process and help you come back stronger.
What’s more, while you’re in the tub, it’s important that you listen to your body and get out if anything feels “not quite right,” Jonesco says. He explains that frostbite and, in extreme cases, seizures are potential side effects of exposure to intense cold. Sure, 50 degrees doesn’t sound that cold, but the body loses heat far faster in water than it does in air, so you just need to be aware and avoid overdoing it.
To keep from getting too cold, Khan recommends keeping your upper body covered, and wearing socks can also trap and warm some of the water around your feet, just like the wet suits that divers wear. Since it’s not a bad idea to have a bath time buddy supervising you during your first few times, you can also go ahead and wear underwear or shorts on your bottom half.
Over time, if you feel like you’re getting worthwhile benefits from your ice baths and feel comfortable soaking solo, go for it. If ice baths just aren’t doing it for you, skip them. There are plenty of other—more scientifically sound—recovery methods for you to try.
