Maybe You Shouldn’t Freeze Sore Muscles and Joints After All.
A post-workout ice bath can reduce swelling in sore muscles, which sounds like a great idea after a hard workout. But even though some athletes swear by them, ice baths may not be very helpful for recovery.
Yes, cold relieves inflammation
If you’ve ever used ice to stretch a ligament or stretch a muscle, you are familiar with this phenomenon: ice reduces pain and swelling. Cooling a part of the body narrows blood vessels, reduces the ability of fluid to accumulate in that area, and reduces the swelling that usually occurs after, say, a dislocated ankle or knee. As a result, the number of cells of the immune system, which usually rush to the damaged area, is minimized. Since training can cause muscle damage, it seems prudent to apply the same technique to the microscopic injuries you receive all over your body.
But the cold can also slow down healing.
Reducing inflammation sounds great until you realize that the healing process is closely related to inflammation – that is, if you decrease blood flow, swelling, and immune response, you can also delay healing. Recent research suggests that even ice sprains and injuries may not help , and the same can be said for ice baths.
As Christie Aschwanden wrote in her deep dive into athletic recovery techniques , post-workout ice baths are also going out of style. They can make you feel better in the short term, but if you use them after every workout, you can actually slow down your gains.
Although icing over painful muscles and joints can be pleasant.
Ice baths not only heal your muscles; they are a whole experience. Some people like to get out of the bath, even if they don’t like being in it; and those who like ice baths say they feel euphoric or invincible. After all, you just went through something painful and difficult and survived. If it makes you feel like a cooler athlete, it might be worth it.
This story was originally published in October 2019 and was updated on June 28, 2021 to follow the Lifehacker style guidelines.