Fire & Ice: The Reasons For Alternating Between Cold And Warm Therapy
Research suggests alternating between cold and heat exposure can improve health. Though it sounds extreme, subjecting the body to intense temperature changes elicits anti-inflammatory pathways, improving physical and psychological well-being.
Unfortunately, we don’t all have access to ice-filled lakes or natural geothermal pools. Such locations are rare, and getting to them is expensive.
Nevertheless, technology is riding to the rescue. Clinics are now simulating these environments with cryotherapy and infrared sauna techniques that eliminate the need to derive temperature extremes from the natural environment.
The Science Of Cold And Warm Therapy
Contrast therapy may be effective because it combines the benefits of cold and heat.
Cold Therapy
Cold therapy works by reducing blood flow to injured areas, calming inflammation, and lessening tissue damage after injury. (This is why medical professionals recommend people apply bags of frozen peas to injured joints and limbs after an accident).
However, the cold’s beneficial effects may also apply to uninjured people. Following careful research, scientists now believe it can treat skin conditions, prevent Alzheimer’s, and reduce arthritis pain.
The cold may also elicit pro-longevity pathways. Exposure to low temperatures may encourage cells to produce special proteins that repair double-strand DNA breaks and promote genome stability. Severe cold might explain why Greenland sharks and bowhead whales have such extreme lifespans – their bodies make these proteins in high volumes all the time.
Heat Therapy
By contrast, heat therapy works by increasing the temperature of inflamed tissue, dilating blood vessels, and promoting blood flow. This effect enables sore and tired muscles to relax.
Researchers believe improving circulation can eliminate lactic acid waste buildup after some exercises. Furthermore, many individuals find heat psychologically comforting, suggesting it might provide additional relief via the placebo effect.
Heat And Cold Therapy Combined
Combining cold and warm therapy may deliver synergistic benefits according to some researchers. These professionals argue cold causes veins to contract while warming up makes them overcompensate. Adding heat may increase this expansion further, allowing nutrients and blood to flow into the exercised or injured tissues.
Medical professionals started using cold and warm compresses to douse inflammation centuries ago. However, they remained skeptical of the broader benefits. Doctors and researchers saw contrast bathing as something fringe.
Nowadays scientific research is catching up. Results corroborate what many individuals have known for centuries – that cold and warm therapy works.
For instance, researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that alternating between hot and cold baths increased oxygenated hemoglobin and tissue oxygen saturation in the muscles of healthy men and women. Scientists suggested the treatment could assist muscle injury recovery, though they didn’t test it directly.
A 2022 study went a step further. It found that subjects dipping their legs in cold and hot water following intense exercise experienced faster recovery. Those receiving the treatment had more muscle power and less perceived soreness after 24 hours than control subjects, confirming heat therapy’s beneficial effects.
Incredibly, some studies suggest that contrast water therapy (CWT) reduces athlete muscle pain and soreness better than relaxing or doing nothing. Subjects who rested instead of going for an ice bath or sauna experienced slower recovery and additional muscle strength loss.
The History Of Cold And Warm Therapy
Cold and warm therapy developed independently in several locations with access to cold water and warm springs. Early pioneers include the Japanese, Finns, Turks, and Koreans.
Japanese Onsens
The Japanese onsen (hot spring) culture spearheaded the movement in the East. The earliest formal mention of these traditions dates to the Nihon Shoki, a 7th-century text. It refers to various onsens in the country’s north, including those at Ehime, Hyogo, and Wakayama.
Researchers believe onsen culture had spiritual significance for the early Japanese. The country’s indigenous religion, Shinto, emphasized ritual purification by bathing in hot springs. Buddhism, which arrived from China in the 6th century, also promoted bathing for hygiene and good fortune.
Legend suggests the samurai used onsens centuries ago to rest their weary legs and heal wounds. The contrasting cold and hot temperatures may have sped their recovery and enabled them to return to battle.
Some onsens also had specific mineral profiles. Many locals believed these could remedy their ailments during this period, thanks to the concept of balneotherapy.
In the early period, royalty and nobility used onsens for religious purposes. However, these facilities became more accessible and affordable during the Middle Ages.
By the 16th century, public bathhouses, or sentos, began emerging in mainland Japan. These facilities lowered prices, leading to the first explosion of onsen culture nationwide. City dwellers used them as social hubs, gathering for networking, meetings, and even business.
During the Meiji period (from 1868 until 1912), the Japanese poured resources into understanding onsen’s health benefits. Scientists powered by enlightenment ideals found evidence that supported earlier beliefs about the positive health effects of hot and cold treatment. However, researchers based their conclusions on observational evidence, not an understanding of the biological mechanisms supporting improved well-being.
Later, the invention and development of Japan’s railway infrastructure in the 20th century turned onsens into national resorts. Residents in far-flung cities could hop on trains at low cost and visit destinations for vacations away from busy developing cities.
In the 21st century, bloggers and vloggers drove the popularity of onsens, raising them to international tourist hotspot status. Thanks to their work, Hokkaido’s bathhouses are experiencing a revival.
Finnish Sauna And Swedish Cold Baths
The origins of Finnish saunas may stretch back even further than Japanese onsens. Archaeological evidence suggests ancient precursors date to more than 7,000 BC, soon after humans first discovered and colonized the region.
Hunter-gatherers and agriculturists on marginal land would dig into the soil and line holes with stones, forming a communal bathing pit. As in Japan, these facilities served as a backdrop for numerous functions, including birth ceremonies, weddings, and healing rituals. People with injuries also utilized them as a palliative or to speed healing.
During the 11th and 12th centuries, the sauna concept became more widespread and part of local identity. Written texts from the time refer to savusauna (the origin of the word “sauna”), suggesting increased usage.
As construction techniques improved, saunas became the enclosed spaces we know and recognize today. Locals would light open fires in special receptacles and use them to create steam inside the chamber.
During the 19th century, wood stoves replaced open fires, making steam generation more controllable. Sauna-goers could adjust the heat and humidity to the desired levels.
Finally, the 20th century saw the move to electric saunas. These made them more accessible to the public and allowed families to keep them in their homes for the first time.
As for cold baths, researchers believe they evolved from Nordic cultures. Ancient people plunged into cold pools for health and rejuvenation – a tradition that developed organically. However, historians only created accounts of the widespread use of cold water immersion during the 17th century.
As the scientific revolution swept through Sweden and Northern Europe, the concept of cold water cures for various maladies developed. When hydrotherapy became more widespread in the 19th century practitioners included cold plunges in their treatment plans.
In more recent years, the popularity of cold water plunges has exploded. Influencers and entrepreneurs are communicating the benefits to a mass audience, encouraging more people to try it.
For example, “Ice Man” Wim Hof began experimenting with cold water exposure at age 17. Later in 2011, he started a scientific investigation with Radboud University, sparking global interest in his protocol.
Later, YouTube personality and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman suggested combining cold therapy with hot saunas after researching the literature. Harvard aging researcher David Sinclair followed suit, popularizing the concept of hot and cold as a potential lifespan extender.
Turkish Baths
Turkish bath culture emerged with the rise of Islam during the 7th to 10th centuries. The religion emphasized the value of cleanliness, transforming Greek and Roman public bathhouses into social and religious centers.
Historians credit the Umayyad Caliphate – the region’s rulers in the early part of this period – with building many of its first bathhouses. The Seljuks followed them on arriving in Anatolia in the 10th and 11th centuries, upgrading and improving their designs.
The most notable bathhouses of the Middle Ages emerged in the 13th century. These include the Eski Kaplica commissioned by Murad I, known locally as the “Old Thermal Baths.”
The period of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 20th century was the golden age of Turkish baths. Hamams became integral hubs in developing urban landscapes, serving civic, religious, and social functions.
The most famous hamams of this era include the Yeni Kaplica in Bursa, built by Rustem Pasha in 1559, and the Süleymaniye Hamam in Istanbul, built around the same time by the Ottoman architect, Sinan.
Throughout history, some Turkish baths had cold pools where bathers could immerse themselves in ice-cold water after a hot bath. The transition from muggy heat to extreme chill was invigorating and produced the same response as cold showers today.
During the 20th century, Turkish bath culture underwent a profound decline. Modern plumbing and bathing facilities reduced the need for hamams leading to a hollowing out of the culture and a return to bathing in domestic spaces.
However, more recent online coverage has led to a resurgence in interest, similar to Japanese onsen. Travel influencers are extolling the benefits of Turkish baths, particularly as an activity during harsh Anatolian winters.
Korean Spas
Like the Japanese, the Koreans also developed a bathing culture around spas called jjimjilbangs. Researchers believe these emerged in the 15th century when Buddhist priests would teach parishioners in fire-heated rooms, similar to kilns. Spiritualists would lie on water-drenched mats, creating steam-filled rooms like saunas.
The Korean bathing habit accelerated during the Japanese invasion of the Korean peninsula in the early 20th century. Locals began incorporating elements of onsen culture, brought to them by overseas occupiers.
After WWII, Korean jjimjilbangs saw further development. The rapid urbanization and industrialization of the economy enabled more municipalities and districts to establish baths. However, this trend was short-lived. Wealthier Koreans began installing bathing facilities in their homes and by the 1990s, jjimjilbangs were more places to meet friends than to keep clean.
Throughout their history, most jjimjilbangs had a hot steam room area with an adjacent cold plunge pool. Families would stay for hours, lounging on hot stones and enjoying food from local restaurants. After an elongated sauna experience, there was a cold plunge before drying off and, perhaps, going for a massage.
Cryotherapy And Infrared Sauna: The Modern Equivalent Of Cold And Warm Therapy
Going to Turkish baths, Finnish saunas or Japanese onsen is inconvenient for most people. Often, it involves traveling thousands of miles overseas.
Unfortunately, the desire to experience the beneficial effects of contrast bathing is global. Travelers want steamy soaks in geothermal pools followed by cold plunges in nearby icy waters.
Nevertheless, technology is changing the situation. Cryotherapy followed by an infrared sauna mimics contrast baths’ physical and psychological effects. Moreover, this one-two punch may work even better than traditional options.
Whole-body cryotherapy involves entering a special chamber containing liquid nitrogen cooled to temperatures as low as -270°F for up to three minutes. During exposure, the body reacts to the intense cold by constricting blood vessels near the skin’s surface and increasing the flow to the core. This blood vessel constriction leads to a temporary state of hyperoxygenation where more oxygen and nutrients go to the core.
Infrared sauna swings the other way, increasing cell temperatures to enhance the effects of cold recovery. Unlike traditional saunas that heat the air, infrared versions use infrared light to impart energy to your skin directly. Eliminating the need for rising ambient temperatures can make the experience more pleasant.
C3 Aesthetics offers both of these treatments inside the clinic. Clients can benefit from hot and cold environments without traveling long distances overseas. It’s a win-win.
