According to Dr. Mickey Mehta, a comprehensive health coach in India, many people often use hot baths or soak in cold water when muscle pain. Although both are common, any therapy is more effective depending on the cause of pain and muscle tension.
Muscle tension and muscle pain
Muscle stretch is a muscle tension and pain, possibly due to stress, incorrect posture or overwork. This is a prolonged form of pain, often associated with chronic or muscle tension problems.
In addition, there is an acute pain that occurs immediately after training or overwork.
When should I take a cold bath?
Cold water helps reduce inflammation effectively. When the body has acute inflammation, the body temperature will increase. If heated in this case, the pain may be worse. Therefore, applying cold or soaking in cold water in this situation is an appropriate choice.
Exposure to cold water can actually promote blood circulation. When you soak in cold water and then go out, your body will warm up and increase blood flow.
This helps to provide oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, promoting the recovery process. Soaking in cold water has also been shown to reduce muscle fatigue, especially useful after strong exercise.
Cold therapy helps prevent muscle weakness, thereby accelerating the recovery process and reducing prolonged fatigue.
When should a hot bath?
Although soaking in cold water is often recommended to reduce inflammation, hot baths bring other benefits, mainly muscle relaxation and enhance blood circulation.
When soaking in warm water with a temperature of 37 ° C to 40 ° C, your body experiences many therapeutic effects. Hot water temperature helps relax blood vessels, facilitates blood circulation more easily and provides oxygen and nutrients for tired muscles, thereby helping the process of recovery faster. Good blood circulation also helps to remove waste, such as lactic acid, which can cause muscle aches.
Hot bath also helps relieve chronic pain, because the water temperature helps relax muscle fibers, improve flexibility and reduce hardness. This therapy also works to reduce stress both physically and mentally, helping to improve sleep quality.
Cold and hot bath combined
This method combines cold water and hot water in the cycle, helping to take advantage of both effects of therapy. Cold helps reduce muscle inflammation, while heat helps relax muscles and speed up recovery. This is a very effective therapy after heavy training sessions.
