Cold water immersion therapy or ice bathing, as it’s more commonly known, has been doing rounds all over social media.
With celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Lizzo, and Drake raving about the benefits of ice baths, we have to question should we jump on this train too.
Owner of CUAN Ice Baths Lukas Kinloch is under no illusions of the potential dangers for some people of ice water bathing, and advises all of his customers to take the best care possible.
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CUAN Ice Baths is a sole trading, start-up business that sells ice baths and robes, which Lukas opened in April of this year. Based in Belfast, Lukas is passionate about fitness and recovery, and was looking for a way to speed up his recovery process. “I was going to buy an ice bath from the UK and then I realised that no one was really doing it in Ireland and the companies weren’t necessarily being serious enough it or the benefits it has," he told RSVP Live.
Lukas noticed a need for an Ice Bath trading company in Ireland, and opened up in April of 2023. Lukas named his company after his son, Cuan, which is Gaelic and translates to Ocean, or Harbour.
Having only opened in April, CUAN Ice Bath’s have seen incredible success. “We’re already nearly sold out,” said Lukas. It’s no wonder Lukas has experienced such success with his business, as the trend of ice bathing has completely skyrocketed. Those who partake in the act of ice bathing sing the praises of the practice, with a range of benefits for your physical and mental health.
“It's very good for recovery. Studies have shown it's highly effective for high intensity exercise and endurance training, it has massive anti-inflammatory benefits too. It has also been shown to increase your mood and speed up metabolism. There's so many benefits that come with it."
However, ice bath enthusiasts also need to be aware of the dangers of cold water immersion therapy.
“Yeah, of course it's dangerous. We have warnings and safety precautions all over our website," he said.
“What we say in our safety briefing is never do any hyperventilation before, during or after water immersion and to start slow and prioritise safety and how each individual's response to cold is unique.
"We recommend that as a rule of thumb, follow: this is cold, but I can handle this safely. And the colder the stimulus, the shorter the exposure time is needed. You want to ease yourself in, but we say across our website to prioritise safety always."
CUAN also recommends that people under the age of 18, if you're pregnant, if you have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure, if you have diabetes with complications such as neuropathy or retinal damage, if you wear a pacemaker, history of frostbite, an open wound or recent surgery or epilepsy, do not use or do not buy.
When used safely, ice water bathing can hold an immeasurable amount of benefits, and Lukas has some tips for first timers: “Start slow just by gradually building up, you don't need to go straight into an ice bath. You can actually get some of the benefits from cold showers. Apparently just 30 seconds of turning your shower to cold has reduced people’s amount of sick days by 30%."
For more information on CUAN Ice Baths, visit their website at HERE
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