As the holidays get closer, you’re thinking about taking the plunge into hot tub ownership. Congratulations! In this article, we look at five tips for finding the most reliable hot tub.
You know a hot tub is a big investment in your health, well-being, happiness, and overall enjoyment of life.
If you’re into fitness or you suffer from arthritis, you know that soaking in a hot tub keeps your muscles from getting stiff and can relieve muscle and joint pain. (more…)
Dreaming about your winter soaks and soaking in a winter wonderland? Prepare your hot tub for the winter with these simple tips. (more…)
When Daylight Saving Time rolls around each November, we set our clocks backward and gain an hour of sleep. This can cause many of us to feel groggy and “off” the next day and even for a few days afterward.
While millions of Americans want to do away with this tradition, we are stuck with it for now. So, in order to deal with it, we put together some tips on surviving those first few days.
This article looks at how to adjust to Daylight Saving Time in a hot tub and out. (more…)
It’s hard to believe, but winter in Kansas is almost here. In fact, we’re starting to feel its cool touch even now.
Many people love using their hot tub in the winter. It’s like a cozy cocoon on a cold winter night, plus it’s the ideal place to relax and reconnect with loved ones during the winter and the holiday season. (more…)
A cold plunge or hot tub soak? Wondering which is better for you? Or can you benefit from both? In this article, we learn about the benefits of both and how it can be super beneficial to go from one to the other.
You can go from hot tub to cold plunge or sauna to cold plunge and enjoy the best of both worlds. This is especially true if you are like one of the millions of Americans suffering from back, neck, shoulder, or foot pain. We look at how to manage your pain with both cold and hot options.
At one time or another in your life, you will encounter acute pain. This type of pain is short-lived and usually related to an injury in your body.
If you have chronic pain, you know this is long-term and often occurs in your spine or your joints. You may have chronic pain due to injury, health complications, arthritis, old age, or even something else. Both types of pain include the following:
Whatever pain you are experiencing, acute or chronic, you may find it nearly impossible to find natural pain relief. You are miserable, but you don’t want to take a narcotic pain medicine.
Where do you start? A good place to begin is with heat and cold.
Cold water therapy or cold hydrotherapy is the practice of using water that’s around 59°F to treat health conditions or stimulate health benefits. It makes you feel amazing!
The Ideal Water Care Solo Plunge is cold water therapy. When you use an ice bath, you find that it decreases pain by lowering your skin and muscle temperature and reducing blood flow. Cold water therapy numbs your nerve endings so they can’t tell your brain you’re in pain. As an added benefit, cold water reduces inflammation and swelling.
Ice water has also been found to boost your immune responses, so sometimes you can avoid pain in the future. Consider soaking in a cold tub after you exercise as a natural pain remedy.
Other ways a cold plunge soak helps:
Heat is the opposite of cold. So, when you soak in a hot tub or sauna, you increase the temperature of your skin and muscles. This enlarges your blood vessels, increasing your circulation. This means oxygen and nutrients flee to the area where you feel pain to speed up healing.
Heat promotes healing, reduces stress, and encourages muscle repair. Whether it’s the wet heat of a hot tub or the dry heat of a sauna, heat does the following:
We can simplify this for you. First, cold is usually better for acute injuries right after they happen. You are usually swollen and have inflammation, so cold helps with this.
Heat is better after ice and definitely when you have chronic pain, or you are stiff, achy, or tense.
You can use cold and heat together to supercharge your results. This is called contrast therapy. For example, you can sit in your cold plunge and then move to the hot tub or sauna.
You might also use cold water therapy in the morning and hot water therapy in the evening. Going from a hot tub or sauna to a cold plunge has great benefits.
You may find that you can repair sore muscles more quickly by altering your therapies. Do be sure not to overuse them. The cold plunge should be used sparingly (less than five minutes), while a hot tub or sauna can be used for 15 minutes.
Always speak with your doctor before beginning cold or heat therapy and get their advice as to what is best for you!
Don’t have a cold plunge, hot tub, or sauna? Come see us! We have all three. You’ll even find a dual plunge with one side cold and one hot!