Posted March 23, 2018
Could taking a swim in cold water be a viable solution for pain relief? It was for one man, a 28-year-old who was suffering from severe, persistent pain after receiving surgery for excessive facial flushing. The surgery involves cutting nerves in the chest, and while it served its purpose for the facial flushing, it left the man — a former triathlete — dealing with debilitating chronic pain.1 Conventional pain treatments did little to help, and the pain was made worse by movement so physical therapy was of no use. “Desperate to get some relief,” he told the BBC he decided to go for a swim in a cold body of open water. He figured the cold swim would be a “long shot” to help his pain, but he took the plunge anyway, climbing to the top of a rocky outcrop and then jumping into the frigid water.2 He stayed in the water for only about a minute, and when he got out he was pain free. Read more.