ECB Cold Spa - effective treatment using cold water for humans

So why is an ECB Cold Spa so effective?...

Ice Baths

For many years the use of cold water for treating leg injuries has been well documented. Sports teams and athletes have been filling up containers with water and ice and soaking their legs both pre and post game. By bringing the temperature of water down to 9 degrees (although ice can not maintain this temperature) the therapeutic effects were very evident.

Since the symptoms and causes of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) are believed to closely match those of an acute tissue injury, research has been conducted to test the effectiveness of ice therapy on DOMS. A study by Eston and Peters showed that a 15 minute immersion in cold water following eccentric arm contractions reduced the muscle stiffness and increased the angle of resting arm angle. The lower plasma creatine kinase levels were also reduced.

ECB Cold Spa

What ECB has done is taken this treatment to a new level- by introducing salt, aeration and both reducing and maintaining the water temperature to between 2 – 4 degrees. The combination of these factors mean that the effectiveness of a cold spa is increased greatly and in turn the athlete is back on the field within a shorter period. The bath itself is incredibly easy to use and maintain and it can literally be put in any room where a standard plug socket is located.

Salt

The ECB salt solution acts as a hypertonic poultice as well as having a natural healing effect on wounds. Water density increases with salt concentration, which in turn increases pressure to aid fluid and waste dispersal.

Aeration

Water aeration has a massaging effect on the leg and increases the dissolved oxygen content of the spa solution.

Temperature

ECB Spa solution is maintained between 2 and 4 °c (35 f), to minimise heat and inflammation. This provides analgesic pain management as well as inhibiting enzyme degeneration of tendons post injury. ECB are the only spas that will maintain this temperature. Many units on the market say they can but after closer investigation the chiller units fail to maintain the temperature that is shown on the digital display.

read an article from the BBC on the use of cold water