Infrared Saunas Can Help Speed Recovery from Summer Sports Injuries

Pickup football games, backyard soccer matches, tennis, surfing, or kayaking, no matter the activity, nothing gets people outdoors after the long boring winter like summer-flavored sports. But that unbridled enthusiasm to get outside when our bodies haven’t been conditioned to do so for a few months can inevitably lead to injuries.

Many emergency rooms across the country can see an increase up to 30 percent in adult trauma visits during the summer months, mostly due to outdoor activities. According to Johns Hopkins, the most common sports-related injuries are sprains and strains.

Traumatic injuries include ankle sprains, muscle tears, knee injuries, and broken bones, to name a few. Repetitive stress injuries are those that happen over time from recurring activities like a tennis backhand or kayak paddling.

 

Whether you’ve experienced a traumatic injury or a repetitive strain, some relaxing, quiet light therapy in an infrared sauna may be just what your body needs to speed up injury recovery time and help alleviate discomfort.

Infrared saunas omit infrared light waves that create heat in the body, causing you to sweat and release stored toxins through the skin. Not much different than the idea of a applying a heat pack to an injured area, infrared saunas help stimulate the blood flow to the affected areas of the body, which means faster recovery time. But unlike a heat pack, the heat from the infrared sauna doesn’t dissipate, and it penetrates deeper into the body.  

It's tempting to run out and get physical as soon as the temperatures get warm, but it's important to take it slow at first to prevent injuries. Build frequency and duration over a course of the time so you'll be able to enjoy outdoor activities all summer long with less downtime recovering.

Our Nature's Pathway team can help answer any questions you may have about the infrared sauna as well as any of our other products and services. You can also visit our website here for more information.