Post-Surgery or PT Not Working? How Infrared Sauna & Cold Plunge Can Help Break the Inflammation Cycle

If you've recently had surgery or have been faithfully going to physical therapy but still feel stuck in your recovery, you're not alone. Many people reach a frustrating plateau where progress slows or stops altogether. You might still be in pain, have a limited range of motion, or feel like your body just isn't bouncing back the way you hoped. Often, this is due to a common but under-discussed issue: getting stuck in the inflammation cycle.

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The Inflammation Cycle: A Natural Process That Sometimes Gets Stuck

Inflammation gets a bad rap, but it's actually an essential part of healing. After an injury or surgery, your body sends immune cells and nutrients to the affected area to initiate repair, which can cause swelling, heat, and sometimes discomfort.

Usually, once healing is underway, the body transitions into the next phase: reducing inflammation, rebuilding tissue, and restoring function. But sometimes, due to factors like stress, immobility, poor circulation, or repeated microtrauma, this transition stalls. Inflammation lingers. Pain persists. And the healing process hits a wall.

This is known as chronic inflammation, and it's a common reason why people stop progressing in physical therapy or continue feeling "off" long after surgery.

What the Research Says: Can Thermal Therapy Help?

While research is still evolving, there's promising evidence to support the use of thermal therapies — especially contrast therapy (alternating hot and cold) — to help reset the body's healing process.

What the Research Supports

• Cold therapy has been shown to reduce markers of inflammation (like cytokines), decrease swelling via vasoconstriction, and help dampen pain by slowing nerve conduction. Source: MDPI Review on Cryotherapy

• A systematic review found that whole-body cold-water immersion produces time-dependent benefits for inflammation, stress, immunity, and sleep. Source: PLOS ONE Study on Cold Water Immersion

• Cold therapy is widely used in sports medicine and orthopedics for post-surgical and soft-tissue recovery. For example, it still shows beneficial effects when swelling is a limiting factor. Source: PMC on Cold Therapy in Rehabilitation

• Contrast therapy, as noted by the Hospital for Special Surgery, can enhance circulation and support recovery through alternating vasodilation (heat) and vasoconstriction (cold). Source: HSS Newsroom

• A recent paper on contrast therapy describes its mechanistic effects: reduced cytokine production from cold, increased circulation and collagen synthesis from heat, and improved pain modulation from alternating temperatures. Source: MDPI on Contrast Therapy

What the Research Doesn't Yet Show

• Evidence for contrast therapy specifically after orthopedic surgeries (e.g., knee or shoulder replacements) is limited and less robust.

• Many studies are small, use varying temperatures and durations, and often focus on athletes rather than surgical populations.

• Cryotherapy after total knee arthroplasty shows only modest benefits, and systematic reviews suggest the overall evidence is weak. Source: PMC Review on TKA Cryotherapy

• Timing is key: some studies in athletic recovery suggest cold immersion immediately after exercise may blunt some adaptation responses — highlighting the importance of protocols.

• There is currently no universal, gold-standard protocol for contrast therapy post-surgery, though the physiological rationale supports its use in certain recovery scenarios.

How Contrast Therapy Can Help You Move Forward

At Bull City Soles, we often see clients who are in this exact situation. One of the most effective ways we help people break out of this stuck cycle is through contrast therapy: alternating sessions of infrared sauna and cold plunge. This combination can help your body reboot its natural healing rhythm.

Infrared Sauna: Stimulate, Relax, Circulate

Infrared sauna therapy gently heats the body from within, improving circulation, relaxing tight muscles, and promoting parasympathetic nervous system activity (your body's rest-and-digest mode).

For a deeper dive into how this works, check out our blog on the health benefits of infrared sauna, or see how we've recently highlighted it in our Winter Wellness guide. This can:

• Enhance blood flow to tissues that need healing.

• Reduce muscle tension and pain.

• Support detoxification and lymphatic drainage

• Calm a stressed or overactive nervous system.

Cold Plunge: Reduce Swelling, Reset Inflammation

On the flip side, cold plunge therapy helps to:

• Decrease lingering inflammation and swelling.

• Stimulate the immune system.

• Improve recovery after physical stress or therapy.

• Reinvigorate the body and mind with a surge of endorphins.

We wrote a more in-depth post about this, too — Cold Plunging for Chronic Pain Relief — if you're curious about how cold exposure can help reset the nervous system and reduce inflammation.

Together, this hot-cold cycle stimulates your circulatory and lymphatic systems, essentially giving your body a gentle "flush" that can help clear out stagnation and move you into a new phase of healing.

When PT Isn't Enough: Supportive, Not a Substitute

Let us be clear: infrared sauna and cold plunge are not replacements for physical therapy or medical care. But they can be a powerful complement to your recovery plan, especially when:

• You're experiencing pain or tightness that limits your ability to do PT exercises effectively.

• Inflammation is preventing you from making progress.

• Your surgeon or provider has cleared you, but you still don't feel like yourself.

Contrast therapy can help create the internal conditions that enable physical therapy to work more effectively.

Post-Surgical Recovery: When Is It Safe to Start?

Timing matters. If you've had surgery, you'll need clearance from your doctor before using sauna or cold plunge therapy. But once the acute healing phase has passed, gentle thermal treatment can help with:

• Post-op swelling and stiffness

• Scar tissue mobility

• General pain management

• Regaining comfort in your body

We work with each client individually to determine the right timing, temperature, and approach for your body and healing stage.

A Client's Experience: From Swelling to Relief

One of our clients, Jill, shared her experience after a total knee replacement:

"I had a total knee replacement with complications of excessive swelling. I can say that trying the cold plunge has been fantastic in reducing the swelling, increasing the circulation, and reducing the muscle and joint soreness. I highly recommend this therapy for recovery and fitness." — Jill L.

Her story is just one example of how contrast therapy can support real healing when traditional recovery tools fall short.

The Recovery Room (Sauna & Cold Plunge) at Bull City Soles

Our Recovery Room is designed to support your healing in a calm, intentional environment. Whether you're post-op, post-injury, or just feeling stuck, we're here to help you:

• Reconnect with your body

• Improve circulation and mobility

• Reduce stress and pain

• Create a supportive routine that enhances your other therapies

We also offer massage and Rolfing® Structural Integration, which can further support tissue recovery, postural balance, and long-term mobility.

Ready to Get Unstuck?

Healing isn't linear, and sometimes your body needs a little help to reset. If you're feeling frustrated, inflamed, or like your PT isn't getting you where you want to be, contrast therapy could be the missing piece.

Reach out to us at Bull City Soles to talk about how we can support your recovery safely and holistically. You don't have to push through pain or stay stuck. Let's help your body move forward.