Cryotherapy vs Ice Bath: What’s the Difference? (And Which is Better?)

Many people use the terms "ice bath" and "cryotherapy" interchangeably, assuming they offer the same benefits. However, these are two different forms of cold therapy, differing in their approach, convenience, costs, and more. 

Cryotherapy and cold water immersion expose the body to extreme cold, offering powerful health benefits. While both methods promote improved recovery and mental clarity, they achieve these outcomes differently.

This article talks about the key similarities and differences between ice baths and cryotherapy, comparing their benefits and methods. Our goal is to help make your choice easier.

Keep reading our in-depth cryotherapy vs. ice bath comparison to see which of these recovery methods is best for you. Let’s start by finding out what cryotherapy is. 

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a cold therapy treatment that exposes the body to extremely low temperatures for a short period, typically between two and five minutes. Cryotherapy aims to stimulate the body's natural healing processes, reduce inflammation, and promote overall wellness.

There are two types of cryotherapy to consider, whole-body and localized. Let’s discuss both in detail, starting with whole-body cryotherapy.

Whole-Body Cryotherapy

Whole-body cryotherapy involves standing in a cryotherapy chamber filled with liquid nitrogen-cooled air. The temperature inside the chamber can drop to between -200°F and -300°F (-128°C to -184°C).

During the treatment, you wear minimal clothing, such as shorts and a top for women, and gloves, socks, and slippers to protect your extremities. The cold air circulates your body, cooling the skin and stimulating various physiological responses which we will discuss later.

Whole-body cryotherapy can help with muscle soreness, pain relief, and recovery after exercise and may offer mental benefits, such as higher energy levels and an overall better sense of well-being. However, localized cryotherapy is also an option for those who don’t want to get into an icy chamber. 

Localized Cryotherapy

Localized cryotherapy, also known as spot cryotherapy, targets specific body areas using a handheld device. This device emits a controlled stream of liquid nitrogen, which cools the treated area to temperatures between -30°F and -70°F (-34°C to -57°C).

Common areas for localized cryotherapy include the face, neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles. The treatment can help relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and rejuvenate.

Localized cryotherapy is often used to treat specific conditions such as arthritis and tendonitis and skin issues like acne or psoriasis. It can also be used for cosmetic purposes, such as reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Now that we know what cryotherapy is, let’s cover ice baths. 

What is an Ice Bath?

An ice bath, also known as cold water immersion, involves submerging your body in cold water, typically between 33 to 39°F (1 to 4°C), for a short period, anywhere up to 15 minutes.

Ice baths are popular among athletes and fitness enthusiasts for their potential benefits in recovery, reducing inflammation, and relieving muscle soreness. They may also have mental health benefits.

For now, let’s examine the different types of ice baths, both traditional and more modern options. Let’s first learn what a traditional ice bath entails. 

Traditional Ice Baths

Traditional ice baths require filling a tub with cold water and adding ice to lower the temperature. This method can be time-consuming and inconvenient, as you must constantly replenish the ice to maintain the desired temperature throughout your session. 

You also need a tub or container big enough to submerge yourself in, a constant supply of ice and water, and a way to gauge the temperature accurately. 

Overall, while traditional ice baths have many potential benefits, they aren’t very convenient, unlike modern ice bath solutions. 

Modern Ice Bath Solutions

Advancements in cold therapy technology have led to modern ice bath solutions that offer precise temperature control, built-in filtration systems, and improved convenience. 

These innovative designs eliminate the need for ice, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of cold water immersion without the hassle of constantly monitoring and adjusting the water temperature.

Modern ice baths often feature user-friendly interfaces, such as smartphone apps, that enable easy setting and control of the water temperature. 

With these modern solutions, learning how to take an ice bath is straightforward. Simply fill the tub with water, set your desired temperature, and immerse yourself for the recommended duration, typically between two and five minutes, although some may challenge themselves to stay for up to 15 minutes. 

If you’re interested in a modern ice bath with all the bells and whistles you need for an enjoyable and productive plunge, shop now at Icetubs. 

With the perfect ice bath setup within your reach, you might be interested in the potential benefits of both cryotherapy and ice baths. 

Similarities Between Ice Baths and Cryotherapy - Their Potential Benefits 

Both cryotherapy and ice baths are forms of cold therapy, which are reported to have numerous potential benefits, such as reducing inflammation, muscle soreness, and pain, improving metabolism, strengthening immunity, improving mental health, and even improving your skin. 

Let’s find out why ice baths and cryotherapy are worth trying, whether you're an athlete who needs to recover faster or an average Joe looking to make healthy lifestyle choices. Here are the main benefits of cold therapies such as cryotherapy and ice baths.

Reducing Inflammation

One of the main benefits of cold therapy, in general, is a reduction in acute and chronic inflammation. 

As far as ice baths are concerned, studies show that cold-water swimmers have lower inflammatory responses than those who don’t engage in regular cold-water swims, thus illustrating how ice baths may help reduce symptoms associated with chronic inflammation. 

Furthermore, the cold water causes blood vessels to constrict, therefore reducing blood flow to affected areas, which can be beneficial for acute inflammation. 

Next, we have cryotherapy, which, thanks to its freezing cold temperatures, is also able to cause blood vessels to constrict, therefore reducing acute inflammation. 

Also, studies show that cryotherapy is an effective solution for reducing inflammatory responses in the human body. 

The main takeaway is that cold therapy, such as an ice bath or cryotherapy, effectively reduces inflammation. 

Recovery - Relieving Muscle Soreness and Pain

The next benefit of cold therapy such as an ice bath is that it can help relieve muscle soreness and pain, and ultimately help you recover from exercise faster. Studies indicate that cold water immersion helps to relieve muscle soreness and fatigue in athletes after hard bouts of training. 

This is in part thought to be a result of the cold temperatures causing your body to flush lactic acid away from the muscles. There are numerous other studies which back up the assertion that cold water immersion aids in recovering from muscle fatigue and soreness. 

Next, there are also various studies which indicate that cryotherapy helps to reduce muscle damage, pain, soreness, and fatigue, while exercising post-workout recovery times, in part by decreasing metabolite concentrations within soft tissues. Additional studies also show that cryotherapy can help reduce DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness after exercise. 

We can gather here that both cryotherapy and ice baths are ideal for recovery after exercise or muscle injury. 

Improving Metabolism

Another benefit of cold therapies is that they can help regulate your metabolism. Extreme cold, particularly cold water immersion, can activate brown fat or brown adipose tissue, a type of fat that burns calories to generate body heat. By exposing yourself to the cold, your body burns more calories to stay warm. 

In terms of cryotherapy, the story is much the same. The extreme cold causes the body to engage in thermogenesis, or in other words, it activates that brown fat to burn more calories and stay warm. A study performed on menopausal women showed that localized cryotherapy helped curb abdominal obesity. 

The bottom line is that whether it’s cold air or cold water, your body reacts to it much the same way: by increasing heat generation by burning more calories, ultimately burning fat and assisting with weight loss goals.    

Boosting Immunity

Yet another benefit of the cold is its ability to boost your immune system, allowing you to better fight off unwanted invaders. For instance, studies performed on cold water immersion show that the cold helps to stimulate immune cells such as leukocytes, lymphocytes, and white blood cells. 

Cold water immersion also helps stimulate the production of norepinephrine, an important immune system component. Moreover, a study of cold-adapted individuals showed that they had better immune responses than those who were not cold-adapted. 

Furthermore, studies performed on cryotherapy show that the extreme cold increased interleukin-18 (IL-18), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), CCL2, and CXCL8. These are all important components of the immune system. This indicates that cryotherapy and ice baths can help strengthen the immune system. 

Skin Benefits

Next, both cryotherapy and ice baths have skin-related benefits. One of the main ones is a boost in collagen production. Collagen keeps the skin firm and elastic, helping you look younger. 

Furthermore, because the cold constricts blood vessels and reduces inflammation, it may also reduce puffiness and the severity of inflammatory skin conditions. The cold itself temporarily pulls pores shut, causing the skin to look tighter. 

Improving Mental Health 

Finally, cold therapies can also help improve mental health, mainly because the cold causes a rush of endorphins, which regulate mood. 

Studies on cold water immersion also show that it can help boost dopamine and serotonin levels, both important neurotransmitters for regulating mood, with the potential to curb symptoms of anxiety. 

Additional studies on cryotherapy show that it may be effective at relieving symptoms associated with depression and anxiety. Overall, it’s clear that both cold water immersion and cryotherapy have massive potential for improving mood and mental state. 

If you’d like to take advantage of all of these potential benefits, considering a dedicated cold plunge tub from Icetubs is certainly worth it. 

Now that we know why ice baths and cryotherapy are so beneficial, let’s find out what distinguishes them. 

Cryotherapy vs. Ice Bath: Key Differences

When comparing cryotherapy and ice baths side by side, several key differences, such as temperature and comfort level, need to be considered.

Here’s what sets ice baths apart from cryotherapy: 

Temperature

One of the most significant differences between cryotherapy and ice baths is the temperature range used in each treatment.

Cryotherapy chambers use extremely cold air, ranging from -200°F to -300°F (-128°C to -184°C). This intense cold is achieved using liquid nitrogen or refrigerated air.

Ice baths use water chilled to 33 to 39°F (1 to 4°C) and, in the case of a more moderate cold plunge, between 50°F and 59°F (10°C to 15°C). The cold water is typically achieved by adding ice to a tub or pool of water.

It might seem like the extreme cold of a cryo chamber compared to the temperatures of an ice bath might elicit the above benefits much faster. However, even if that were true, you still have to be able to withstand temperatures as low as -300°F to reap those benefits, and that can be challenging, which brings us to our next point. 

Duration

The time spent in each cold therapy treatment also varies, with cryotherapy sessions lasting only two to three minutes due to the extremely low temperatures used. That said, even a few seconds in -300°F temperatures for most normal people is too much to handle.

On the other hand, a moderate cold plunge between 50°F and 59°F usually lasts up to 15 minutes, allowing the cold to penetrate deep into muscle tissues. Cold plunges or ice baths between 33°F and 39°F often last between three and five minutes, also allowing for deep penetration. 

Whether 59° or 39°, it’s still a much more tolerable temperature range than the -300°F of a cryo chamber, making it much easier to stay in an ice bath longer. 

Staying in an ice bath compared to a cryo chamber for a few extra minutes is worth considering that the extra time spent in the icy plunge can penetrate much deeper into your tissues, producing better results. It’s much easier to say in the IceBath for several minutes that it is a cryo chamber! 

Comfort Level

Yes, we’ve already mentioned how the warmer temperatures of an ice bath are more comfortable and easier to handle than the extreme cold of cryotherapy. However, the difference between wet and dry cold also plays a role. 

Many might say that the cold water of an ice bath can really shock the system compared to the dry air in a cryo chamber and that cold air saps less warmth from your body than cold water does. While this may technically be true if we are talking about air and water of the same temperature, consider the massive temperature difference here. 

The air in a cryo chamber is so much colder than the water of an ice bath that the heat-sapping difference between cold air and cold water is a moot point. Cryochambers are just so much colder, even colder than taking an ice bath during the winter! 

Cost and Convenience

One of the biggest notable differences is that a cryo chamber is something that the least of people can afford. In some cases, these can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, with even the cheapest of chambers usually being well above $30,000.

Installing a cryo chamber in your home is also not exactly convenient or space-efficient. 

However, a dedicated cold plunge tub from Icetubs takes up much less space, not to mention that it is a fraction of the price.

While costing less than one-third of modern cryo chambers, models like the IceBarrel XL, with advanced features such as precise temperature control, filtration systems, entry stairs, seating, allow you to reap the benefits of cold therapy without going bankrupt. 

In most cases, people who use cryotherapy go to special locations that provide these services, which means traveling whenever you want to get a cold, instead of just sitting in your cold plunge tub at home. Of course, using someone else’s cryo chamber can also add up financially over time! 

Ice Bath vs Cryotherapy: Which is the Best Cold Therapy Option?

Cold therapy, whether through cryotherapy or ice baths, offers significant benefits for recovery, inflammation reduction, and overall wellness. However, while cryotherapy exposes the body to much colder temperatures, ice baths offer more comprehensive advantages for several reasons.

Ice baths allow longer exposure to cold, which can penetrate deeper into muscle tissues, providing more effective relief for soreness and pain. They are also far more cost-effective and convenient, especially with modern cold plunge solutions that offer precise temperature control without the need for constant ice replenishment. 

Additionally, the milder temperature of ice baths, compared to the extreme cold of cryotherapy, makes them more tolerable for most people, allowing for a more comfortable and manageable cold therapy session. While both methods have benefits, ice baths generally offer a more accessible and practical approach to cold therapy for most individuals.

Ultimately, the decision to pursue cold therapy is a personal one that depends on your individual goals, preferences, and lifestyle. However, with its numerous physical and mental health benefits, cold therapy is undoubtedly worth considering as a powerful tool for optimizing your well-being and performance.

Choosing between an ice bath and cryotherapy depends on your personal preferences and goals. Icetubs offers a convenient, modern solution for those who prefer the benefits of cold water immersion without the hassle of traditional ice baths or visiting a specialized cryotherapy facility.

‍Find the best ice baths right here!