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Cold plunge benefits

As long as you’re in good health and don’t have any underlying conditions mentioned below, cold plunges may bring some relief to your sore muscles.

“There’s no doubt that some people get great relief from using ice baths,” Dr. King notes. “Patients can get physical, mental and functional benefits from this kind of cold therapy.”

A small 2017 study showed that ice baths may not be as beneficial as once thought, but many medical professionals — especially those who work with serious athletes — still consider them useful. And a 2021 study of college soccer players showed that cold water immersion therapy promotes basic post-sport recovery.

Benefits include:

1. Eases sore muscles

This one is pretty simple: After a hard workout, ice baths feel good. The cold water constricts your blood vessels, which slows blood flow and relieves some of that swelling and soreness you feel in your muscles after a long run or a hard-fought game.

Again, though, be sure you’re only easing post-workout aches and not actual pain. If you have to push through pain during exercise, there may be an underlying injury. Don’t cover up that pain with cold. “You may be delaying appropriate healing,” Dr. King warns.

2. Reduces your core body temp

If you’ve just worked yourself into a sweat, it follows that an icy dip is a quick way to cool down. When your body is all fired up from a workout, that cold water brings your core temperature back down in a flash.

But be careful: Staying in an ice bath too long can lower your core body temp too much, which is also risky.

“In sports medicine, ice baths are used for marathon runners and others who are experiencing heat injuries,” Dr. King explains. “We use it as an emergency treatment in the field to bring down their core temperature.”

Have you ever watched behind-the-scenes clips of your favorite sport and seen athletes lowering themselves into big tubs of frigid water after a big game? That’s called a cold plunge, also known as cold therapy or cold water immersion — and it’s basically the practice of taking an ice bath after physical activity.

Sports medicine physician Dominic King, DO, explains how to safely take an ice bath and what benefits it can provide your body after a big workout.