For a long time athletes have been using hot tubs and hydrotherapy to help benefit their muscle recover, so much so that it is often part of their training routine. A pre and post workout soak can help all kinds of athletes soothe strained, tired, or sore muscles.
In the following article, we discuss various sports that can benefit from hydrotherapy and the numerous athletic conditions it can treat.
Baseball
As the warm months begin, more and more people will go outside to register for a summer baseball league. It is a fun and social sport that can help benefit the cardiovascular system. On the other end, there are frequent injuries in the sport of baseball. Some common injuries of baseball include torn ligaments, knee injuries, rotator cuff tears (common in pitchers), the typical muscle strains and sprains. With a hot tub you can help boost circulation and increase blood flow, all while quickly healing damaged muscles and tissue.
Runners
Running comes with many benefits to your cardiovascular system and can give its athletes a rush, like a ‘runners high’ that many enjoy. Hot tub therapy can help every runner, from the athlete that competes in marathons to the one who just enjoys a simple morning run. Unfortunately, no matter how much or often you run, muscle tension and muscle imbalances, like runners knee, is a common side effect. While these conditions can be painful, a simple solution is spending time in a hot tub. A soak will help increase mobility and relieve joint pressure.
Swimming
This may seem like an odd one since these athletes already spend so much time in the water. Even though swimming is low impact, it is common for athletes to experience injuries. A common type of injury is in the shoulder joint, as well as bicep tendon inflammation. It is also common to experience lower body injuries like hip pain, back problems, and hip tendon inflammation. Swimmers looking to improve their overall injury recovery time can benefit from the hot tub jets providing powerful therapeutic help to soothe and target sore muscles.
When you experience an injury like a strain or sprain, it is not recommended you apply heat directly to the injury until the swelling has decreased. Once it has, a soak will help decrease inflammation, as well as help promote injury recovery.
A hot tub can provide benefits to athletes in these three major areas:
- Can help relieve sore and painful muscles post athletic activity
- Powerful hydrotherapy can help speed up healing
- Can help injured muscles rehabilitate and recover
Aside from sore muscles and injuries, a hot tub is both relaxing and fun! It is not uncommon for athletes to enjoy a pre-workout soak to help relax, prepare, and focus on an upcoming performance.
If you do not participate in organized sports and prefer other activities like daily walks, yoga class, or simply morning stretches, you will find benefits in a hot tub soak. The water’s buoyancy helps give your body a weightless feeling and ease away muscle tension.
Now that you are aware of the numerous benefits a hot tub can bring to athletes, download our hot tub buyer’s guide to find out more about hot tub massage benefits.