Cold plunge enthusiasts, including Joe Rogan, Wim Hof, and Andrew Huberman rave about the benefits, claiming that ice baths, cryo chambers and other frigid exposures can reduce stress, accelerate recovery, decrease pain, and boost mood.
But, is there any scientific research to back up these anecdotes?
Let’s discuss.
What is Cryotherapy?
Also known as cold therapy, cryotherapy involves the use of low temperatures in medical therapy. “Cryo” comes from the Greek word krýos which means “cold” or “frost.”
Forms of cryotherapy that you may have heard of include:
- Ice baths/cold plunges
- Cold showers
- Cold water immersion
- Whole body cryotherapy
While cryotherapy has come into the mainstream over the past 5-10 years, athletes, coaches, and trainers have been using it in some form or fashion for decades. Typically, cryotherapy is used to reduce swelling, muscle spasms, inflammation and overuse symptoms.
Now, let’s see what research has to say.
Research-Backed Benefits of Cryotherapy
May Support Cardiovascular Health
As you’ve likely experienced before, jumping into a cold pool isn’t exactly comfortable (for many reasons). Aside from the physical discomfort, cold plunges in the short-term are a significant stressor on the cardiovascular system and may pose severe risks for individuals with pre-existing heart conditions. However, regular exposure to cold water has been found to support cardiovascular health via several mechanisms.[2]
Noted cold plunge and breathing exercise specialist has developed a method (aptly named the “Wim Hof Method”) that combines cold exposure, breathing exercises, and meditation to enhance physical and mental health. Researchers put Hof’s method to the test and investigated what potential benefits (if any) would occur when individuals followed the method for 15 days.[3]
Unfortunately, individuals performing the Wim Hof Method daily did not experience any clinically significant positive effects on several markers of cardiovascular and psychological well-being, including blood pressure, heart rate, heart function or mood.[3] Researchers concluded that based on these results, “the WHM should be questioned as a complementary therapy in cardiovascular prevention.”
Now, this could be due to the fact that the duration of the trial was too short for Mr. Hof’s methods to take effect, but health enthusiasts would do well to take the hype of Mr. Hof’s methods with a grain of salt.
May Reduce Inflammation
Resistance training is a (beneficial) stressor to the body. Over time, regular bouts of resistance training build strength, burn calories, boost mood, reduce stress, and support cardiovascular health.
Newbies to the gym as well as those of us who may have gotten a little too ambitious in our training have no doubt experienced horrendous delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in the days after a workout.
Ice baths/cold plunges are heralded for their ability to reduce exercise-induced inflammation and speed the recovery process.
In fact, a 2023 meta-analysis concluded that cold water immersion (CWI) immediately after exercise or competition can effectively reduce muscle soreness and accelerate fatigue recovery.[4]
This may be particularly useful for in-season athletes or have a short turnaround before the next bout of competition.
However…
Be Careful with Cryotherapy After Resistance Training
Intense physical exercise does create microtears in muscle fibers and ignites the body’s inflammatory response. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. In fact, it’s vital to recovery and (more importantly) getting stronger and building lean muscle tissue.
Therefore, doing something that stunts the body's natural inflammatory response (such as ice baths or taking anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen) can hinder/slow muscle growth and other adaptations associated with resistance training.
A recent literature review found that cold therapy hinder muscle growth and delay muscle regeneration.[5]
A previous systematic review and meta-analysis also concluded that cold water immersion following resistance training impaired strength-related adaptations, including absolute strength and muscular power.[6]
Active Recovery May Be a Better Option
Active recovery are lower intensity bouts of physical activity commonly used to enhance recovery, decrease soreness, and increase circulation. Examples of active recovery include walking, cycling, hiking, yoga, foam rolling, and stretching.
A 2017 study compared cold water therapy to active recovery and found that the cold water was NOT superior to active recovery on markers of cell stress or inflammation.[7]
So, if you’re a casual fitness enthusiast or serious about building muscle, then opt for active recovery modalities in lieu of cryotherapy so as not to impair muscle adaptations to exercise. Or, if you still want to use cryotherapy, make sure it is separated by at least 3-4 hours from your resistance training session.
May Improve Mood & Cognitive Function
Cold water therapy may help to lift fatigue and mood, potential by enhancing the release of feel-good chemicals like endorphins and noradrenaline. Earlier studies find that regularly swimming in cold water may lessen depressive symptoms and reduce fatigue[8,9]
Newer studies find that whole-body cryotherapy treatments benefits memory retention, especially for individuals with mild cognitive impairment.[10,11]
The Bottom Line on Ice Baths for Recovery
The body of cryotherapy research is limited, but slowly expanding. As such, more findings need to be published before we can definitely say if it offers benefits or a null-effect. If you enjoy cold plunges and it helps you to feel better (either physically or mentally), then keep doing what you enjoy.
However, if you’re doing it in the hopes of improving your results in the gym, then you may want to pump the brakes a bit and focus on other proven methods, such as active recovery, consuming enough daily protein, getting adequate sleep, and dialing in your post-workout nutrition.
References
- Lombardi G, Ziemann E, Banfi G. Whole-Body Cryotherapy in Athletes: From Therapy to Stimulation. An Updated Review of the Literature. Front Physiol. 2017 May 2;8:258. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00258. PMID: 28512432; PMCID: PMC5411446.
- Manolis, A. S. et al. Winter swimming: Body hardening and cardiorespiratory protection via sustainable acclimation. Curr. Sports Med. Rep. 18, 401–415 (2019).
- Ketelhut, S., Querciagrossa, D., Bisang, X. et al. The effectiveness of the Wim Hof method on cardiac autonomic function, blood pressure, arterial compliance, and different psychological parameters. Sci Rep 13, 17517 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44902-0
- Xiao F, Kabachkova AV, Jiao L, Zhao H, Kapilevich LV. Effects of cold water immersion after exercise on fatigue recovery and exercise performance--meta analysis. Front Physiol. 2023 Jan 20;14:1006512. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1006512. PMID: 36744038; PMCID: PMC9896520.
- Piñero, A., Burke, R., Augustin, F., Mohan, A.E., DeJesus, K., Sapuppo, M., Weisenthal, M., Coleman, M., Androulakis-Korakakis, P., Grgic, J., Swinton, P.A. and Schoenfeld, B.J. (2024), Throwing cold water on muscle growth: A systematic review with meta-analysis of the effects of postexercise cold water immersion on resistance training-induced hypertrophy. Eur J Sport Sci, 24: 177-189.https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.12074
- Malta ES, Dutra YM, Broatch JR, Bishop DJ, Zagatto AM. The Effects of Regular Cold-Water Immersion Use on Training-Induced Changes in Strength and Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2021 Jan;51(1):161-174. doi: 10.1007/s40279-020-01362-0. PMID: 33146851.
- Peake JM, Roberts LA, Figueiredo VC, Egner I, Krog S, Aas SN, Suzuki K, Markworth JF, Coombes JS, Cameron-Smith D, Raastad T. The effects of cold water immersion and active recovery on inflammation and cell stress responses in human skeletal muscle after resistance exercise. J Physiol. 2017 Feb 1;595(3):695-711. doi: 10.1113/JP272881. Epub 2016 Nov 13. PMID: 27704555; PMCID: PMC5285720.
- Foley R. Swimming in Ireland: Immersions in therapeutic blue space. Health Place. 2015;35:218–225. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.09.015.
- Van Tulleken C., Tipton M., Massey H., Harper C.M. Open water swimming as a treatment for major depressive disorder. BMJ Case Rep. 2018;2018:bcr2018225007. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2018-225007.
- Rymaszewska J, Lion KM, Stańczykiewicz B, Rymaszewska JE, Trypka E, Pawlik-Sobecka L, Kokot I, Płaczkowska S, Zabłocka A, Szcześniak D. The improvement of cognitive deficits after whole-body cryotherapy - A randomised controlled trial. Exp Gerontol. 2021 Apr;146:111237. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111237. Epub 2021 Jan 14. PMID: 33454354.
- Rymaszewska J, Urbanska KM, Szczesniak D, Stanczykiewicz B, Trypka E, Zablocka A. The Improvement of Memory Deficits after Whole-Body Cryotherapy - The First Report. Cryo Letters. 2018 May/Jun;39(3):190-195. PMID: 30059565.
