Contrast Therapy is Associated with Higher Thermal Comfort for a Similar Acute Inflammatory Response Compared with Sauna Therapy

Authors

Rene Barbier, St. Mary's UniversityFollow
Benjamin Enslow, UT Health San AntonioFollow
Jace Nicolet, St. Mary's UniversityFollow
Louis Hein, St. Mary's UniversityFollow
Kelvin Wu, St.Mary's UniversityFollow
Sven Hoekstra, St. Mary`s University, San AntonioFollow

Abstract

Passive heat therapy, through sauna or hot water immersion, can improve cardiometabolic health outcomes. An increasingly popular thermal modality is contrast therapy, during which sauna therapy is interspersed with cold exposure. However, the acute physiological and inflammatory response to contrast therapy in comparison with traditional sauna remains unknown. PURPOSE: This study compared the acute inflammatory, physiological and perceptual responses to contrast- versus sauna therapy in young, healthy individuals. METHODS: 10 males and 3 females (age: 26.1±7.9 yrs; BMI: 25.9±7.1 kg/m²) completed three randomized trials: HEAT, CONTRAST, and NEUTRAL. HEAT consisted of three 15-min intervals of Finish Sauna (~80 °C), with 5-min seated rest between each interval. CONTRAST also consisted of three 15-min intervals of Finish Sauna (~80 °C), but with a 5-min cold plunge (~13 °C) between each interval. During NEUTRAL, participants rested for 55 min in a seated position at a thermoneutral temperature. Blood samples were collected before and immediately after the trials, whereas heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), sublingual temperature and perceptual responses were collected throughout. RESULTS: Twelve participants provided blood samples; three were excluded because of missing or invalid control data, leaving nine with complete interleukin (IL)-6 and endothelin (ET)-1 data. There was a condition × time interaction (p = .004, partial η² = .79) for serum IL-6 concentration. While IL-6 concentration decreased slightly from pre to post during NEUTRAL (0.80± to 0.62± pg/mL), it was increased to a similar extent following HEAT (1.47± to 2.13± pg/mL) and CONTRAST (0.63± to 1.22± pg/mL; p = 0.625 for HEAT vs. CONTRAST). Serum ET-1 concentrations did not change following any of the trials (time p = 0.300). CONRAST led to a smaller increase in HR (final HR: 105±18 vs. 151±28 bpm) and sublingual temperature (final sublingual temperature: 37.9±1.2˚C vs. 39.0±0.6˚C) compared with HEAT (condition x time ppp = 0.455). The perceptual responses were more negative during HEAT than CONTRAST. Thermal sensation was 9±1 (out of 1 to 9) at the end of HEAT, and 7±1 in CONTRAST (condition x time pp = 0.021). CONCLUSION: This study showed that contrast therapy elicits a similar acute inflammatory response compared with sauna therapy, while it leads to more positive perceptual responses. This underscores the potential of contrast therapy as a tolerable thermal intervention and provides strong rationale to investigate its long-term health effects in a larger sample.

Recommended Citation

Barbier, Rene; Enslow, Benjamin; Nicolet, Jace; Hein, Louis; Wu, Kelvin; and Hoekstra, Sven (2026) "Contrast Therapy is Associated with Higher Thermal Comfort for a Similar Acute Inflammatory Response Compared with Sauna Therapy," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 18, Article 140.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/140