COLD/ICE BATHS AFTER RUNS... ???

[runcherylrun]

I've heard & read about runners taking cold baths after their runs to help with soreness, inflamation, etc. I tried it last Sunday after my LSD which just happed to be my longest ever - 25.6 km. I had hardly any soreness so I'm thinking it worked pretty good.

I just want to make sure I'm doing it right though, so.....

1) How cold should the water be? I live out in the country & our water comes out of a well so it gets really really cold.

2) How long should a person stay in? It took a couple of hours for my feet to warm up

3) How long should I wait before I can take a regular (hot) shower? It's getting pretty cold out there, after running in the cold & taking a cold bath, I'm really really ready for a warm shower.

4) Do you take one after every run or just after LSD's?? I'm not sure I'm that fanatical.

Thanks for your help everyone

Cheryl

[Dstew]

I have used ice packs on the legs - no more than 20 minutes for any one muscle group.

The ice bath - following a marathon. There are various ways to do it. The only way I found I could was to sit in the bath, let the cold water raise to where it had to and then had my wife dump in the ice.

20 minutes exactly - my understanding is longer and you potentially start damaging rather than damage control.

It did the job too well - felt great and ran too hard too fast within two days.

After an LSD, a cold bath - just have the cold water on and enough to cover your legs for 10 - 20 minutes should do the trick.

[paulg]

I too find ice packs very effective, and some I know will spray their legs with cold water from a garden hose immediately after a run, but I still find the ice packs work great.

Paul

[ChrisL]

I used to suffer from mild shin splints, but I have not had any problem since I used ice packs. I am not sure I could tolerate ice bath though.

[HCcD]

Coors Light .....

Ooops, I thought what is the preference of cold ones after a long run ....

(as they all chuckle, as if he drinks beer )

[RayMan]

An ice bath <shudder> I don't know how those maniacs do it! I am all about the ice packs...watch TV, chat with the family, and chill...

[Cheermidget]

I've only done the ice bath thing once--right after a marathon. I found it really helpful, and I wasn't as sore the next day.

I filled a bathtub halfway with water (I was in a hotel room), added one or two bucketfuls (the hotel buckets) with ice, and pretty much sat in there for 10 minutes. I didn't want to stay in for longer b/c my feet were FREEZING!!!! I think that, regardless of ice bath or ice pack, you're supposed to follow the "10 minutes on, 10 minutes off" rule.

Otherwise, I'm in the ice-pack camp with everyone else. My knees and shins are very thankful.

[Irongirl]

After Gramma's Marathon in Duluth, MN, my dad stood in Lake Superior for 20 minutes....said he never felt better the next day after a marathon then after doing that!

Cheryl - I think you can alternate - cold/hot - but, I'm not positive on that....

anyone have answers on that? I would be interested in the bath thing, not necessarily the ice pack thing.

Apparently having two bathtubs in the house helps (as opposed to 1/2 a tub like I have!)

[dwayne_runs_far]

Hi Cheryl, how have you been?

I've become a big fan of the ice bath. My methodology is based on an article I read in Runner's World about a year or so ago. Here's my scheme for voluntarily invoking severe shrinkage

* Disclaimer: A certain number of cards must be missing from your deck to think this is a good idea

- As soon as I come in from either a long run or a hard tempo run I start running the tub with just straight cold water.
- I fill the tub so that when I'm sitting in it my legs are completely submerged
- The moment of truth is the first step in and then when as I sit down the butt hits the water
- I will sit there and think happy thoughts forgetting that numbness is encapsulating my entire lower body
- My timer is my music. I have a CD that I use as a pseudo ritual for my post run. I usually end up sitting in there for about 10-15 minutes depending on how I feel. The harder the run, the longer I will soak.
- I will sit in the while the water drains, trying to maximize the joy of this cold water (see disclaimer above if this doesn't make sense).
- As soon as the water is drained, hot shower time where the main focus is to reverse the shrinkage as quickly as possible

I find the soreness seems to just not exist like it used to before I started doing the cold dunks. If I don't do the cold soak after a hard run I will feel the soreness so I know it works at some level. Next summer I will try it with actual ice in the tub too, but I just haven't been brave enough.

Hope that helps,
Dwayne

[runcherylrun]

Thanks for the info Dwayne !!!!!

Despite the shock to the system I found it worked great. I'm going to have to find a different way to try it this weekend as I'll be at the family cottage & they don't have a bath tub there.

Wait a minute - I'll just walk into the lake, ya that should work - everyone already thinks I'm crazy for training for a marathon - this should cement the deal

Cheryl

[La]

The post-run jump in the lake is a great idea. I've done it after a long bike/run workout and it's the best. I've also done it on New Year's Day after a 9K run - right into Lake Ontario! Brrr!

The other option is to stand in the shower with a hand-held shower head and spray cold water on your legs. I've also heard about the alternating cold/hot approach, although I'm not sure the reasoning.

[dgrant]

I've only done the ice bath once, but I swear by ice packs. Same effect - no shrinky-dink! I do at least one or two icing sessions everyday, whether I've run or not.

I have yet to see a credible explanation for the hot/cold thing.

[Jwolf]

Same effect - no shrinky-dink!

Thanks for the visual, dave.
Some of us don't have to worry about that.

[runcherylrun]

I've only done the ice bath once, but I swear by ice packs. Same effect - no shrinky-dink! I do at least one or two icing sessions everyday, whether I've run or not.

I have yet to see a credible explanation for the hot/cold thing.

Why does that scene with George from Sienfeld keep running thru my head???

[dgrant]

Same effect - no shrinky-dink!

Thanks for the visual, dave.
Some of us don't have to worry about that.

Ah, never you mind! You're a married woman and have no business visualizing shrinkied-dinks. Anyway, it's a biologically-conditioned response...as a woman of science you should appreciate that.

[Nicholas]

Ice is nice but cold is just as bold. They hose down racehorses' legs but no ice baths for those studs (or any s-d complications). The US runner Meb something-or-other (Olympic silver medallist) stands in a cool stream after every long run.

I don't remember seeing any studies on how cold the water/ice mix needed to be to be effective. One ice bath advocate suggested taking a towel with you as something to bite on as you did your iceberg imitation.

[Nicholas]

I don't remember seeing any studies on how cold the water/ice mix needed to be to be effective.

An ice/water mix will always be 0 degrees celcius.

I saw that when I wrote it but....if you are using just cold water or mixing ice with the cold water, the resulting temp will usually be above zero.

[Nicholas]

Hey,....Dr.J did you just delete your post after I quoted it????? Kind of like the twilight zone.

[Jwolf]

Oops... I was going to say something else, so I was starting over...

what you said was right, too...

what I was going to say was that I find that cold water out of the tap works really well, and is much easier than dealing with getting all that ice. Also, it's hard to stay in the water that long if it's too cold...
I usually just run the cold water from the tap over my bad foot, and it really helps to keep the inflammation from coming back.

[dwayne_runs_far]

I have yet to see a credible explanation for the hot/cold thing.

The rationale I've heard (again in the Runner's World article) was that the cold constricts the lactic acid cells then they cling to the blood cells. The hot afterwards then starts the whole muscle flushing cycle.

I used to use ice packs too, but this technique, although slightly crazy, works faster and way better for me. You can also just run cold water in the shower over your legs too; which I will often do after treadmill runs at the gym. Much less shrinkage, but less effective on the muscles.

There are a wide variety of cross training activties that one can use to quickly reverse the shrinkage effects anyway

[Nicholas]

There are a wide variety of cross training activties that one can use to quickly reverse the shrinkage effects anyway

Lends a whole new meaning to the term "pumping iron".

[dgrant]

There are a wide variety of cross training activties that one can use to quickly reverse the shrinkage effects anyway

Lends a whole new meaning to the term "pumping iron".

Hmm...Viagra and Ipubrofen...what a cocktail.

[Irongirl]

why is it that EVERY thread leads back to the same topic?

[dgrant]

why is it that EVERY thread leads back to the same topic?

I think a lot of us are going through the tapering sillies.

[Irongirl]

We'll jeepers, if you have energy to burn from tapering....burn it!!!!