Lower Back Soreness After The Snow
We’re one month into the new year, and between workout soreness and shoveling snow, my body feels sore and stiff. A few days ago, everything caught up with me. I found myself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, grimacing, and running through my recovery options: crawl into the sauna blanket, take a cold bath, or continue lying there debating life. Long story short, I opted for the quickest relief: a cold bath.
It wasn’t a random decision. From experience, I knew it would work. Back in college, after intense training sessions, my coach would line us up for a brutally efficient two-minute cold plunge. Standing there, sore and exhausted, waiting my turn, I remember debating life then, too. But without fail, I walked out feeling noticeably better, less achy, more functional, and ready to move again.
Still skeptical about the benefits of a quick cold plunge? Consider this:
In a 2015 controlled trial, healthy adults performed a squat-induced soreness protocol. Afterwards, researchers compared the effects of cold packs and heat wraps, applied either immediately after exercise or 24 hours later, and measured changes in muscle soreness, strength, and pain.
Here’s what they found:
✔ Cold wins for pain relief
Whether applied right after exercise or a day later, cold therapy lowered muscle soreness more than heat did.
Whether applied right after exercise or a day later, cold therapy lowered muscle soreness more than heat did.
✔ Both cold and heat improved recovery vs. doing nothing
Subjects who used either modality immediately after exercise only lost about 4% strength, while people who did nothing lost 24% strength.
Subjects who used either modality immediately after exercise only lost about 4% strength, while people who did nothing lost 24% strength.
Even if strength loss isn’t your main concern, this study is relevant because it evaluated healthy adults and compared cold, heat, and no intervention using practical, real-world timing. It’s also important to understand that heat and cold serve different purposes in recovery. Cold therapy works by numbing pain and reducing the inflammatory responsethat causes acute soreness. In contrast, heat therapy increases blood flow, relaxes tight muscles, and helps restore comfortable movement as your body heals.
Here’s how I recommend using cold and heat:
- 0–48 hours after activity: Cold
- 48+ hours after activity or for chronic stiffness: Heat (avoid cold)
Pro tip: Alternate between cold and heat to reduce soreness without completely blunting the healing response that happens after intense activity.
Here’s how I recommend using cold and heat:
- 0–48 hours after activity: Cold
- 48+ hours after activity or for chronic stiffness: Heat (avoid cold)
Pro tip: Alternate between cold and heat to reduce soreness without completely blunting the healing response that happens after intense activity.
The goal is to respond to what your body actually needs in the moment. Cold and heat aren’t competitors; they’re tools. Used at the right time, they can help you move better, recover faster, and keep consistent with the things you enjoy doing.
If you’re unsure which to use, that’s often your cue to slow down, tune in to your body, and choose recovery with intention. Your body is already doing the work to heal. Your job is simply to support the process.
Move well. Recover smarter.
Until Next Time!
Dana G.
Sources:
Petrofsky, Jerrold S.1; Khowailed, Iman Akef2; Lee, Haneul3; Berk, Lee1; Bains, Gurinder S.1; Akerkar, Siddhesh1; Shah, Jinal1; Al-Dabbak, Fuad1; Laymon, Mike S.4. Cold Vs. Heat After Exercise—Is There a Clear Winner for Muscle Soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29(11):p 3245-3252, November 2015. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001127