Abstract
BackgroundRecently, mist saunas have been used in the home as a new bathing style in Japan. However, there are still few reports on the effects of bathing methods on recovery from muscle fatigue. Furthermore, the effect of mist sauna bathing on human physiological function has not yet been revealed. Therefore, we measured the physiological effects of bathing methods including the mist sauna on recovery from muscle fatigue.MethodsThe bathing methods studied included four conditions: full immersion bath, shower, mist sauna, and no bathing as a control. Ten men participated in this study. The participants completed four consecutive sessions: a 30-min rest period, a 10-min all out elbow flexion task period, a 10-min bathing period, and a 10-min recovery period. We evaluated the mean power frequency (MNF) of the electromyogram (EMG), rectal temperature (Tre), skin temperature (Tsk), skin blood flow (SBF), concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb), and subjective evaluation.ResultsWe found that the MNF under the full immersion bath condition was significantly higher than those under the other conditions. Furthermore, Tre, SBF, and O2Hb under the full immersion bath condition were significantly higher than under the other conditions.ConclusionsFollowing the results for the full immersion bath condition, the SBF and O2Hb of the mist sauna condition were significantly higher than those for the shower and no bathing conditions. These results suggest that full immersion bath and mist sauna are effective in facilitating recovery from muscle fatigue.
Highlights
Mist saunas have been used in the home as a new bathing style in Japan
This is the detailed study on the physiological effects of bathing methods including the mist sauna on recovery from muscle fatigue
We investigated the physiological effects of bathing methods on recovery from muscle fatigue using the EMG, Tre, Skin temperature (Tsk), Concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb), skin blood flow (SBF), et cetera
Summary
There are still few reports on the effects of bathing methods on recovery from muscle fatigue. We measured the physiological effects of bathing methods including the mist sauna on recovery from muscle fatigue. Bathing is a custom that is deeply ingrained in the life of Japanese people [1]. Soaking, in a bathtub is a popular and often habitual pastime that has its roots in the culture of the Japanese people [4]. It is well-known that Japanese people prefer bathing for recovery from fatigue as well as to ensure cleanliness [5]. In order to avoid chronic fatigue, it is important to develop effective strategies to recover to avoid the accumulation of acute fatigue
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