What's Better After ExerciseA Hot Sauna or Cold Plunge?

You can speed up your recovery at the gym or at home with the right therapy

- BY NICOLE BLADES

You just finished an intense leg day-full effort heavy lifting that you know you'll feel tomorrow. The stairs are already conspiring against you as you approach them.

You should always be sure to give your body a good post-workout stretch, but then what? Should you jump in an ice bath or hit the steam room? When it comes to using heat versus cold therapy to remedy sore muscles, there's more to the choice than personal preference or whatever is trending on social media.

Look at it in terms of what you are trying to modify-heat to increase blood flow or cold to minimize inflammation-in your body's healing and recovery process, says Dr. William B. Workman, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine expert at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Walnut Creek, Calif.

"The key factors to consider are the type of exercise, the timing of the treatment and the intended response from your body," he says.

Cold therapy

Strength training, endurance and high-intensity workouts exact a real tax on the muscles. They basically cause low-level trauma to the body, doctors say.

"You're experiencing microtears in the muscle, along with the release of lactic acid and inflammation that can cause tissue irritation, soreness and stiffness," Workman says. There's also delayed onset muscle soreness to consider. This pain and stiffness can hit you even two days after doing a new or strenuous workout.

Your aim with these types of workouts should be to reduce the inflammatory response with cold therapy, says Michelle Porter, a certified personal trainer based in Hoboken, N.J. The most common forms of this kind of treatment are ice baths, cold plunges or a simple cold shower.