Tag: Treating Pain With Float Therapy

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Pain and Physical Therapy

Athletic Recovery Floatation Tank

Relief from gravitational pressure gives our body a break, and allows blood to flow freely to parts of our body that may be injured, painful, or need to recover from intense exercise.

Normally, our bodies are subjected to gravitational pressure. But in an Epsom salt bath, the concentration of salts allows us to float effortlessly. Epsom salt baths have been reported to have significant impact on hypertension, chronic tension headaches, and chronic pain in the back and neck.

Increased blood flow also allows our body to eliminate waste and toxins such as lactic acid, which causes pain and cramping when left to build up. Coupled with the ability to become aware of knots and tensions, floating allows athletes and gym-goers to heal faster and overcome fatigue.

In recent years, floating has been used as a form of alternative medicine to treat many conditions from fibromyalgia to arthritis. It is reported as being particularly effective in relieving back pain, with a 2017 study conducted over 4 weeks concluding:

‘Floating has a direct and positive effect on reducing the intensity and frequency of chronic back pain, as well as improving associated sleep quality, anxiety and depression […] Floating twice weekly has a more pronounced effect than one float per week.’

In Fine and Borrie’s 1978 study, the participants were made up of people who had experienced chronic pain for over 6 months. They reported a reduction in the amount of pain that averaged at 31.3%, with the greatest relief in the upper back region at 63.6%, and the lowest was in the legs at 15.3%.

Studies also show further relief can be achieved with regular use of the tanks, with many reporting the after effects lasting longer between sessions the more they came. Weekly or Fortnightly visits are shown to be the most effective in providing pain relief.

Floating for recovery is being adopted by many professional sporting teams, clubs and individuals. At Float Space we have worked with anyone from runners, to boxers to professional body builders.

When you consider floatation increases the oxygen content in the blood, relaxes tired muscles, removes all strain from joints and tendons, lowers adrenaline and removes lactic acid build up, improves sleep and helps with mindset and visualisation techniques, it is really no surprise.

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Physical Benefits of Float Tank Therapy

Floating Space

Physical benefits of float tank therapy

What is float tank therapy?

Float tank therapy is a sensory deprivation tank that consists of water and almost 800 pounds of magnesium sulfate and Epsom salts. These salts help in the promotion of floating inside the tank. The concentration of these salts is usually higher to keep the person afloat in the water. In the float tank, a person tends to stay afloat and awake yet relaxed.

The atmosphere and temperature around these tanks are usually about skin temperature. At the same time, the room is soundproof and dark to induce relaxation. These tanks help in decreasing the sensory states of the external environment.

Physical benefits of float tank therapy

In this article, we will discuss some physical benefits of this type of therapy.

  1. Pain relief

The floating tank has a vital role in decreasing or managing body pain. Pain can range from physical body pain, injury or disease-related pain, and pain due to physical exertion. Floating tank therapy tends to remove all the external stimuli, affecting the person and triggering the pain’s internal stimuli. Floating therapy tends to suppress the sympathetic nervous system or “flight or fight” the brain’s action. It takes a person to “rest and recover” phase, which is the prerequisite for relaxation.

  1. Muscle relaxation

According to several research studies, floating therapy can simultaneously provide relief from pain and other psychological distress. The relief from tension and stress can help in the improvement of sleep.

In an interventional study, three patients had flat tank therapy for their fibromyalgia. Researchers assessed and measured their levels of pain before and then after the session. According to the study results, there was a vital decrease in the intensity and levels of pain.

After a few sessions, there was an even more decrease in the intensity of the pain.

Floating tank therapy helped the patients with fibromyalgia to:

  • Decrease the muscle tension
  • Ease in muscle movement
  • Stress reduction
  • Decrease anxiety and irritation.

Along with these all benefits, floating tank also helped with having:

  • Relaxation
  • High energy or energy boost
  • Metal and physical well-being

  1. Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis & rheumatoid arthritis are the two most prevalent diseases of the joints. These diseases have characteristic features of pain, stiffness, and inflammation in the joints. Float tank therapy or isolation pod is the best alternative for traditional practices for arthritis.

Floating tank therapy can help individuals suffering from arthritis by:

  • Relieving the joint pain when a person is in weight free condition
  • Increasing the muscle strength around the involved joint
  • Improving the joints’ and muscles’ range of motion
  • Improving the function and pain of the body
  • Relieving the cofactors of the disease as anxiety, sleep disturbances, and stress

  1. Sharpens sensitivity

Float tanks and rooms tend to minimize the external stimuli, improving the internal body responses.

A patient tends to feel secure and safe inside a place where there is no external sensory stimulation.  A person tends to feel his or her body and the heartbeat’s rhythm, establishing a strong link between person and body.

  1. Behavioral adjustments

Along with treating several physical conditions, floatation tank therapy helps with different behavioral patterns.

Float tank therapy helps in:

  • Reducing the depression
  • Decreasing anxiety
  • Alleviating stress
  • Inducing calmness
  • Improve focus and concentration

Along with it, this therapy can also help remove the daily life adverse effects that encourage the sense of emotional and physical well-being inside an individual.

  1. Athletic performances

According to the research studies, floatation tank therapy helps with a faster workout by reducing lactic acid concentration in the body.

In the floating tank, gravity tends to minimize, helping in a faster lactic acid movement outside the muscle. It also helps in the reduction of overall pain and stiffness in the muscles.

According to floating tank experts, these float tanks are also usable by the athletes for improving their physical and athletic performances.

The better results of athletic performances can be due to:

  • Reduction in overall all body muscles stress
  • More focus on the goal while therapy
  • Less interaction with the noisy external environment
  • Less muscle soreness or fatigue post long workouts

  1. Treats hypertension

In isolation pods or float tanks, an individual tends to float free of gravity. In this state, your blood vessels tend to stay dilated. The dilatation of the blood vessels helps in immediate relief from hypertension and smooth blood flow through them. Floatation tank therapy maximizes the supply of oxygen, blood cells, and nutrients to the body cells. Float tank therapy is a great way to balance blood pressure.