I have been a big fan of heat therapy at The Physiotherapy Place as a way to help treat injuries and aid athletic performance. One of the great things about it is that it is easily accessible to just about anyone and this is even more the case with the recent opening of Soul Water Sauna, Edinburgh’s first sauna by the sea.
I’m often advising people to regularly use heat for its therapeutic effects and there is more and more research coming out to show the positive impact it can have on the body.
What Is Heat Therapy?
Heat therapy does as the name suggests - implements heat to have a therapeutic effect on the body. Heat can be applied locally to an area that requires it, such as resting a hot water bottle on an injured shoulder. This will have many local benefits of increased blood flow and muscle relaxation to help the specific issue. The other method is to immerse the whole body in heat and this can help specific issues but also has the added benefit of triggering other health benefits in the body as a whole. Saunas are the perfect way to do this.
Are Saunas Good For You?
In short yes. There aren’t many people or health conditions that wouldn’t feel the benefit from regular heat therapy (there are some conditions such as unstable angina, severe aortic stenosis, and recent heart attack where you should seek medical advice before using). There are numerous physical and mental benefits of heat, and more and more research is coming out to back this up.
Why Do We Use Heat In Physiotherapy?
The main reasons that we would use heat to treat injuries at The Physiotherapy Place are:
muscle relaxation
improve joint mobility
optimise the healing response through increased blood flow. Blood contains all of the important nutrients and substances needed for tissue repair so getting more fresh blood to an area will aid the healing response.
Benefits Of Heat Therapy For Muscles
A healthy muscle is both strong and flexible and heat can contribute to both of these elements. I am often espousing the benefits of warming muscles up before stretching as it relaxes them and allows the muscle fibres to release in order to get the most out of the stretch.
Heat has also been shown to aid muscle growth by promoting the release of Growth Hormone, a natural hormone released by the body that is essential for muscle growth and repair. This is important for all of us, not just bodybuilders, as it prevents muscle wastage - a problem that affects us all as we get older.
What Are The Other Benefits Of Regular Sauna Use?
There is evidence that shows promising results for other positive changes that happen in the body with regular sauna use. These include:
sauna use can mimic the bodies response to exercise. This includes:
increasing blood vessel compliance and reducing blood pressure which help the cardiovascular system
preserving muscle mass to maintain physical fitness
improving mood
release of heat shock proteins to optimise the bodies stress response
these proteins play a role in the prevention of neurodegenerative disease and there are some early indications that regular sauna use may play a role in reducing risk of Alzheimers.
may prevent against cardiovascular disease
studies have shown that incidence of cardiovascular disease was reduced amongst men that used a sauna regularly.
Benefits Of Sauna For Back Pain
Heat has two main effects in helping with back pain. The first is that the application of heat can help to reduce muscle spasm - one of the elements of back pain that can be the most debilitating. The advice now with most back pain is to try to keep moving and alleviating muscle spasm can help to do this.
The second effect is to reduce pain through something called the Pain Gate Mechanism. Essentially this is when the sensory stimulation of heat on the skin and muscle overrides the pain sensation, giving some immediate pain relief whilst the heat is applied.
A combination of these effects enable us to keep moving and do some gentle therapeutic exercises which is usually the quickest route to recovery.
In Summary
The bottom line is that there are so many upsides to regular sauna use and not many down sides. As more research is being carried out we are learning more about the benefits we can gain from saunas.
There has been a huge surge in popularity of cold water immersion and wild swimming in recent years and now thanks to Soul Water Sauna we have access to a sauna by the sea in Portobello so we can take advantage of the cold and the heat together.
Get that sauna seat booked and see for yourself!