Recently the trend of athletes using portable infrared saunas has taken root all across the nation. Their portability and ease of use have made them ideal for warm ups, after workout conditioning, and as a fast injury recovery method of therapy.

FIR sauna’s provide the ideal way for an athlete to have a thorough warm-up to increase flexibility and prevent unnecessary injury. A simple short session in an infrared sauna will not only help to prevent injury, but will also give an athlete a physical edge over their competition.

When tissues are warmed to 112 degrees Fahrenheit and then stretched, they retain roughly 0.5-0.9% of their length indefinitely. This means that with twenty sessions of stretching in conjunction with infrared heat, an athlete can produce a 10-18% increase in tissue length. (Justus F Lehmann M.D., Williams and Wilkins, Therapeutic Heat and Cold, 4th edition.)

Countless are the many benefits that come specifically from the warming effects of the deeply penetrating infrared rays on sore, damaged or tired muscles. The heat will dilate blood vessels and increase blood circulation which will assist muscles to repair and strengthen themselves. Also, the pain of worn or tight muscles will be lessened by the loosening of muscles and reduction of lactic acids that result from infrared sauna use.

Infrared ray saunas are very useful for treating more serious injuries such as sprains. So long as the standard treatments of cold and compressions are first administered an athlete can then use the deep penetrating heat of the sauna to ease the pain and speed the recovery.

An athletes joints are notorious for recovering from illness slowly. Heat from infrared saunas is alble to work deep down into the joint area and loosen the muscles to allow greater blood flow. Poor circulation is then eliminated which helps to speed the joints recovery.

For those athletes who are temporarily unable to stick to their workout regimen because of injury or time constraints, infrared ray saunas are an effective tool to stay fit. Heat from infrared saunas causes an elevated heart rate, which is a low impact way to obtain a great cardiovascular workout. The American Medical Association explains that “many of us who run do so to place a demand on our cardiovascular system…. Regular use of indoor saunas may impact a similar stress on the cardiovascular system, and its regular use may be as effective, as a means of cardiovascular conditioning and burning of calories, as regular exercise.”

A detailed report in JAMA explains that infrared saunas burn around 500 calories per sauna session on average, making an infrared sauna a great method to born calories, get rid of fat cells and stimulate the metabolism. Although extremely effective, infrared saunas should not be considered a 100% replacement for standard cardiovascular workouts. They are extremely useful as a warm-up, post work out therapy and method to stay fit while your body heals from injury.

The improved physical performance, post-workout conditioning and enhanced injury recovery that athletes are getting from regular infrared sauna use explains why they are popular among athletes. Locker rooms everywhere will likely only see an increase in portable infrared ray sauna usage.

To find out even more information about how athletes everywhere are benefiting from portable infrared saunas, go to HEALTHandMED.com