I ran an Ultra on Saturday, going in for a deep tissue massage today. I’ve had someone tell me that I should ice after the massage to reduce inflammation. I’m a big fan of ice baths, should I get 20 pounds of ice and sit in my bath tub after a deep tissue massage? … ultra, deep tissue, ice bath…i would say i am a glutton for punishment 
any input?
Your best bet would have been to ice bath Sunday. In general though there are no negative effects to doing an ice bath after a message.
*obviously consult your personal physician and all that disclaimer crap beforehand.
I did ice bath on sunday 
love em’
my dream is to have a whirl pool in the garage…ha
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I love ice baths after hard/long efforts. However, my therapist reccomends an epsom salt bath after deep massage. She says 15 minutes, as hot as you can stand it. Helps draw out the toxins she just spent the last hour releasing.
From having done it and not done it, I think my legs feel better when I do. No scientific evidence.
I had an intra-race ice bath at IM Canada (in the form of 45 degree driving rain) this year beginning at mile 90 of the bike…once I thawed out it worked wonders - ran a 3:29:59!!!..oh but the next day sucked!
Help me understand how submerging part of your body in some nebulous solution of Water and Epsom Salt can “draw out” the “toxins” that get “released” during massage.
What’s the magic of Epsom Salt and its relation to water and a biological barrier of skin, blood vessels, and muscle?
What are those toxins?
Where do they go (or stay) if you don’t submerge afterward?
Are they actually chemically or otherwise “drawn” out of the human body through the skin and then remain suspended in the water solution?
Can we test the water solution both before and after to see what “toxins” those were?
I’ve heard this for the last 20 years, and I’m still trying to get my mind wrapped around the validity of it.
I’ve heard this about the Epsom Salt Bath after a massage. Maybe do this and then do an ice bath to flush everything out!
Help me understand how submerging part of your body in some nebulous solution of Water and Epsom Salt can “draw out” the “toxins” that get “released” during massage.
What’s the magic of Epsom Salt and its relation to water and a biological barrier of skin, blood vessels, and muscle?
What are those toxins?
Where do they go (or stay) if you don’t submerge afterward?
Are they actually chemically or otherwise “drawn” out of the human body through the skin and then remain suspended in the water solution?
Can we test the water solution both before and after to see what “toxins” those were?
I’ve heard this for the last 20 years, and I’m still trying to get my mind wrapped around the validity of it.
Help ME understand why you are being so patronizing, chief.
Ill repost the last part of my last post again, so you can read it real carefully. If you were to ask in a nice way and genuinely wanted to gain an understanding of the physiology of applying heat to sore muscles, then I would waste the afternoon searching pubmed and come up with some studies so we could have an academic discussion of the benefits/drawbacks of such practices. But, since you just wanted to prove how clever you can be, have a good weekend.
From having done it and not done it, I think my legs feel better when I do. No scientific evidence.
It can be absorbed by the skin and is anti-inflammatory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_sulfate
Help me understand how submerging part of your body in some nebulous solution of Water and Epsom Salt can “draw out” the “toxins” that get “released” during massage.
What’s the magic of Epsom Salt and its relation to water and a biological barrier of skin, blood vessels, and muscle?
What are those toxins?
Where do they go (or stay) if you don’t submerge afterward?
Are they actually chemically or otherwise “drawn” out of the human body through the skin and then remain suspended in the water solution?
Can we test the water solution both before and after to see what “toxins” those were?
I’ve heard this for the last 20 years, and I’m still trying to get my mind wrapped around the validity of it.
You’d be fine with an ice bath after. Interestingly, I interviewed Tim Ferriss lastnight for my blog, and he said he finds that it is very easy for people to take 2 ice baths a day with a couple 10lb bags of ice, and that it’s really not all that unpleasant.
I must say that description of an ice bath was a first.
Ben Greenfield
my therapist reccomends an epsom salt bath after deep massage. She says 15 minutes, as hot as you can stand it. Helps draw out the toxins she just spent the last hour releasing.
your therapist is a fraud
my therapist reccomends an epsom salt bath after deep massage. She says 15 minutes, as hot as you can stand it. Helps draw out the toxins she just spent the last hour releasing.
your therapist is a fraud
Oh nooooo! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I think it is very important that we out frauds and cheaters as often as possible here on ST.
So what did she do, exactly?
Win multiple tours de france while possibly using PEDs? And then use her charity work to defend herself?
Use fins at IMFL?
Or are you suggesting something much worse… was she not actually massaging my legs for the 60 minutes that I paid her for?
Or not possibly… is she massaging other people?
She will be devastated when I tell her. She just respects your judgement so very much.
don’t know if this has been discussed before on this forum, but there is research out there now to suggest that ice does NOT help the body’s healing process. Inflammation is a normal response and part of the healing process. Things that prevent inflammation slow the overall healing process. I was glad when I read this article, because I’ve always hated ice/cold water baths or compresses. Warm water is a lot nicer.
here is the abstract for the original article.
http://www.fasebj.org/content/25/1/358
here is a lay summary of the article
http://www.physorg.com/news205413451.html
Not wishing to enter the Epsom Salts debate ( the use of which I am a proponent- again with no scientific evidence to support the efficacy) but am not convinced of the value of Ice baths - at the Olympic Training Center in CO Springs the temperature of that “Ice Bath” is 52F- and it is firmly believed that is cold enough.
I think the whole Ice bath scene was developed by say NFL players to show how macho there are !!!
No patronizing of you intended at all. These are just the exact questions that I’ve had rolling around in my head since the first time someone referenced Epsom Salt soaks, deep tissue massage, and toxins. Those that I’ve asked to explain a little bit have always evaded the question like I’m some kind of jerk for wanting to know WHY I should invest 15 or 20 minutes of my life in the exercise. Sounds like the therapist you used wouldn’t have much of an explanation either. OK.
They’ve always told me to “drink lots of water” after a good massage to help rid the body of the “toxins.”
Drinking water is almost always a good thing. So they’re never gonna be doing you wrong in telling you that. But do they really have more than common sense reasons for those kind of instructions? I’ve always wondered and almost always ask.
I once went to a different massage therapist than usual, and when he started pressing his elbow DEEPLY without release into the large blood vessels in my upper thigh I asked him WHAT that does? His reply: “I have no idea. But isn’t it getting warm?”
Of course it was getting warm–he was almost cutting off the blood supply there for 3 minutes! WACK JOB. Never went back to that kook.
I think it’s a good idea to know WHY.