You’ve probably heard about or experienced the thrill and recovery effect of having an ice bath. And we’re sure you know how good it feels after stepping out of a nice hot shower.
But what about if we combined both of these to supercharge your recovery and have you feeling #AtYourBest?
STAR’s Hot and Cold Plunge Pools (otherwise known as, Contrast Therapy) exists to exert a physiological effect on the body’s pain gate mechanism.
This alters the pain signals that travel to and from your brain, whilst increasing the relief of chronic pain. When systematically using our Plunge Pools, both the nervous and musculoskeletal system pain can be treated. This occurs due to the heat expansion and cold contractions.
This leaves you feeling refreshed, recharged and ready to take on the world.
Another great utilisation of contrast therapy is the assistance of discharging unwanted stagnant waste in the body through the creation of a “pumping mechanism”. Contrast therapy effectively flushes lymph fluid throughout the body, reducing the chances of developing inflammation and disease. The pumping mechanism also increases the amount of blood rich in nutrients circulating in your body and helps with energy and alertness.
Benefits between Hot & Cold Therapy
Hot Therapy
Thermotherapy is an effective method for treating various musculoskeletal injuries. Thermotherapy requires warmth to penetrate the skin and reach the tissues underneath.
This obtains therapeutic results by increasing blood flow, relaxing muscles, and increasing the flexibility of connective tissue. Immediate effects include decreased stiffness, pain, and muscle cramps. It is a good treatment for people suffering from arthritis, tension, sprains, and muscle spasms.
Cold Therapy
Contrasting the hot therapy above, colder temperatures cause your blood vessels to tighten. This helps drain the lactic acid out of your tired muscles. When you get out of the cold waters and back into the hot pool, your muscle tissue warms back up, causing a return of oxygenated blood to help your muscles recover.
If you haven’t tried it before, we’d welcome you to come on down to STAR for a dip into our Hot and Cold Plunge Pools to see and feel for yourself how amazing this recovery technique is.
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