Portable Infrared Sauna: Filling The Nation’s Lockerrooms
Portable infrared saunas are quickly inundating weight rooms and gyms nationwide. Athletes are using them as a key part of their warm ups, workout follow ups, and as a method to speed injury recovery.
For athletes who want a thorough pre-workout warm-up to increase flexibility and prevent injury, a FIR sauna is the ideal “heat therapy room.” Fifteen minutes in a portable sauna just before performing is a great way to get that physical edge that every athletes wants, as well as to better prevent injury.
Tissues heated to 112 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) and then stretched exhibit a non-elastic residual elongation of about 0.5-.9% that persists after the stretch is removed. Thus 20 stretching sessions can produce a 10-18% increase in the length of tissues that are stretched in conjunction with infrared heat. (Justus F Lehmann M.D., Williams and Wilkins, Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th edition.)
After a hard workout or competition, the relaxing effect that deep penetrating infrared heat has on tired, sore or damaged athlete muscles is manifold. The blood vessel dilation and increased circulation brought on by the heat will help tired muscles repair and strengthen themselves more efficiently. Also, the loosening of the muscles, reduction in lactic acids and decreased swelling that are induced by the heat will ease the pain of tight or worn muscles.
Infrared ray saunas are very useful for treating more serious injuries such as sprains. So long as the standard treatments of cold and compressions are first administered an athlete can then use the deep penetrating heat of the sauna to ease the pain and speed the recovery.
The heat from the infrared rays is able to go deep into the joints of an ailing athlete. As the heat relaxes the muscles around the joint less strain and pressure is placed on the region. This helps overcome the issue of low low d circulation that exists in the body’s joints and in-turn improves their ability to repair and heal.
For those athletes who are temporarily unable to stick to their workout regimen because of injury or time constraints, infrared ray saunas are an effective tool to stay fit. Heat from infrared saunas causes an elevated heart rate, which is a low impact way to obtain a great cardiovascular workout. The American Medical Association explains that “many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system…. Regular use of indoor saunas may impact a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise.”
For athletes and those on fitness regimens, an infrared sauna can be a supplemental method of burning calories (up to 500 calories per sauna session!), a way of getting rid of fat cells and a means of boosting the metabolism. An infrared sauna should not be used as a replacement for a traditional cardio workout, but make a great follow up to a workout as well as a way to stay fit while injuries prevent athletic mobility.
The popularity of infrared saunas among athletes makes sense when we look at the enhances performances, post-workout relaxation, and improved injury recovery that comes from regular sessions. There is not likely to be a decline of these portable saunas in the nation’s locker rooms.
In order to find out more information about the ways athletes are benefiting from infrared saunas, go to HEALTHandMED.com
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