Cold water immersion therapy: do the benefits outweigh the risks?

The health and wellbeing effects of plunging into icy water are well documented – but how dangerous is it?

Coroner ‘concerned’ over lack of cold water immersion regulation after woman’s death

A cold shower a day keeps the doctor away, according to Wim Hof, the Dutch extreme athlete and self-styled Iceman. For Hof and other advocates, cold water immersion is a panacea for ailments from arthritis and Crohn’s disease to depression and headaches.

But the death of Kellie Poole, a 39-year-old whose heart stopped during a cold water immersion therapy session in Derbyshire last year, has raised questions about the safety of plunging into icy water, with the coroner expressing concern this week about the lack of regulation.

Continue reading…

About Author