Need relief from achy muscles? The most common treatment is either a heating pad or a cold pack. But, according to experts, you should be treating your sore muscles with both. Using hot and cold in quick succession is called contrast therapy, and it can greatly ease discomfort and aid in recovery.
Below, we asked experts to explain exactly what contrast therapy is and how it works. Plus, we rounded up products that can help you try it at home.
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What is contrast therapy?
Contrast therapy is a relatively simple treatment commonly used by physical therapists and other medical practitioners. “It involves alternating between extremely cold and hot temperatures,” says Dr. Smita Ramanadham, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey. “This causes vasoconstriction followed by vasodilation in the muscles, which can also help with inflammation and swelling.” Translation: Heat encourages blood flow, while coldness constricts it. “This action exercises your blood vessels, which helps to reduce swelling, remove lactic acid and reduce pain and inflammation,” says Dr. Raleigh Duncan, CEO and Founder of Clearlight Infrared Saunas.
This type of body treatment is performed in various ways. You can go from an infrared sauna to cryotherapy or a cold plunge, says Duncan. Other common practices include switching between cold and hot compresses or taking a hot shower and following it with a cold one, adds Ramanadham.
Who should try contrast therapy?
Contrast therapy is safe for most people and can help anyone with muscle aches, pain or swelling. It is often used after exercise or exertion, when lactic acid may build up or muscles feel fatigued, according to Ramanadham. Along with working out, it can be used to help people who work on their feet or those who may have recently done something physically exerting, such as gardening or other house tasks.
It’s best to consult a medical professional before trying contrast therapy. Those who have heart or circulation issues, open wounds, high blood pressure or who are pregnant should likely stay away from this type of treatment, says Ramanadham.
How to try contrast therapy at home
One of the best things about contrast therapy is that you don’t have to go to a fancy spa or wellness facility to try it. It’s actually super easy to do it yourself at home. “Simply alternate between hot and cold water in your shower for home contrast therapy,” says Duncan. “Wait at least a minute or two or until you feel your body has warmed under the hot shower and then abruptly switch the water to cold.”
For maximum benefits, do this switching back and forth several times before stopping — Duncan jokes that the gasping and shrieking will subside after the first couple of rounds. ”If you have a tub and a shower, you can alternate between the hot tub water and the cold shower. In this case, you can stay in the tub a little longer to bring the heat deeply into the body,” he says. “Stay in the cold shower until you feel that your body has truly cooled down, then repeat.”
A more targeted approach can help if you have a more specific area of your body that you want to try, like your lower back or neck. To treat smaller areas, you can do contrast therapy with cold and hot packs. With these, you’ll follow the same method as above — switching back and forth between applying the cold and hot pack until you feel some relief.
Products that can help you try contrast therapy at home
If you want to try targeted contrast therapy — as opposed to taking a hot and cold shower — you’ll need cold and hot compresses. Below, we’ve rounded up some highly rated options to consider.
Highly rated hot packs
Bearaby, the company that made the NBC Select Wellness Award-winning Terraclay Dreamer Sleep Mask, also has the Snuggler, which can be heated up for hot therapy or frozen for cold therapy. NBC Select editorial projects manager Rebecca Rodriguez says that it stays warm the longest out of any heating pads she’s tried. To warm it, you put it in the microwave and then it can stay hot for up to a full hour, according to the brand. This is helpful when trying contrast therapy because it gives you time to switch back and forth between hot and cold.
This heating pad plugs into the wall via a nine-foot cord and has a slide-button control with three heat settings. The actual heating pad is 24 inches long, making it a good option to apply to larger areas of the body. It also has a 2-hour auto-shutoff for safety. This pad has a machine-washable cover.
If your neck and shoulders tend to ache, this heating pad is for you. It goes on like a cape, covering those areas. It is weighted to soothe as it heats up. This heating pad has nine distinct heat settings and 11 timer settings to cater to your specific needs. It also comes encased in a machine-washable flannel cover. This option has a 4.3-star average rating from over 26,430 reviews on Amazon.
Highly rated cold packs
This ice pack measures 10.5 inches by 14.5 inches. To keep it cold, you store it in the freezer and then take it out to apply it where needed. The pack is filled with gel that gets really cold but doesn’t freeze solid. This allows the pad to be flexible enough to contour to your body. It has a nylon cover that is easy to wipe down and it stays cold for hours, according to the brand.
This ice pack has a stretchy neoprene strap that allows for a secure, close-fitting fit on your body. It measures 16 inches by 9 inches, making it good for your back or thighs and it is covered in thick nylon that is easy to wipe clean, according to the brand. It can be kept in the freezer and used for up to 20 minutes at a time, according to Revix.
This set comes with three reusable cold packs in various sizes — 6, 9 and 11-inch. Rather than a gel that freezes, these have a cap that unscrews and then you can fill the vessel with ice. The pack is covered in soft cotton for comfort as you apply it and the bags are lightweight, according to the brand. This set also comes with an elastic strap to secure the ice pack to your body and it has a 4.7-star average rating from over 13,340 reviews on Amazon.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Smita Ramanadham is a plastic surgeon in New Jersey.
- Dr. Raleigh Duncan is the CEO and Founder of Clearlight Infrared Saunas.
Why trust NBC Select?
Bethany Heitman is a contributor at NBC Select and a journalist who regularly covers beauty, home and lifestyle. For this story, she interviewed two experts in contrast therapy.
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