Cold water immersion therapy is proven to provide relief from inflammation and pain, naturally support the immune system, and help to reduce stress. All three are common symptoms for those with MS.
Unsurprisingly, MS patients who incorporate cold showers into their daily routines report serious benefits such as regained feeling in body parts that had lost sensation, increased energy, and even recovery from MS related urinary difficulties.
Temperature sensitivity in MS
However, decreases in body (core and skin) temperature resulting from cold baths or exposure to cold ambient temperatures can also trigger a worsening of clinical symptoms [96].
Hot water showers and baths are sources of heat that can result in elevations in core body temperature. In multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, this can further interfere with electrical signals from already damaged nerves and lead to a temporary exacerbation of symptoms or the appearance of new ones.
MS attacks the nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Resulting damage to the nerves can cause pain and irritation, as well as weakness. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, cryotherapy can reduce nerve activity, which might ease nerve pain and irritation.
Some people with MS notice that symptoms, particularly spasticity, become worse in cold weather. It is generally recommended that people with MS who are sensitive to temperature try to avoid extremes of either hot or cold.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) triggers that worsen symptoms or cause a relapse can include stress, heart disease and smoking. While some are easier to avoid than others, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and overall health and wellness can have outsized benefits for MS patients.
A combination of the magnesium rich Epsom Salts and the way you float free from gravity allows muscles to completely relax. Magnesium is used in the body to help muscles relax and help nerve function so is helpful for people with MS who are struggling with tight painful muscles and spasms.
Some people with multiple sclerosis find that cold temperatures make their symptoms worse. It doesn't have to be extreme cold, it could be a light breeze or getting caught in the rain on a summer's day. The effect is temporary and, when you warm up, your symptoms should go back to their usual level.
Although a steamy soak may be tempting to help ease muscle stiffness or nerve pain, hot temperatures can actually worsen MS symptoms, even if temporarily.
Mental Health Benefits of Cold Showers
A chilly zap from cold water signals to your brain to release endorphins, the feel-good hormone. This may create: A decrease in depression symptoms and anxiety. Improvement in stress levels.
People who have MS and take vitamin D supplements may have symptoms that aren't as bad as they would be if they didn't take vitamin D. Also, symptoms may occur less often, which may improve quality of life. Taking vitamin D also may lower the risk of relapse and may decrease new scarring in the nervous system.
Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves. It's not clear why this happens but it may be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Current or previous smokers with the highest levels of EBV antibodies were 70 percent more likely to develop MS than those with neither risk factor. Study Provides Strongest Evidence Yet for the Role of Epstein-Barr Virus in Triggering Multiple Sclerosis. Ask an MS Expert: The Role of Epstein-Barr Virus in MS.
Ocrelizumab (Ocrevus).
It also slows the progression of the primary-progressive form of multiple sclerosis. This humanized monoclonal antibody medication is the only DMT approved by the FDA to treat both the relapse-remitting and primary-progressive forms of MS .
Those symptoms include loss of vision in an eye, loss of power in an arm or leg or a rising sense of numbness in the legs. Other common symptoms associated with MS include spasms, fatigue, depression, incontinence issues, sexual dysfunction, and walking difficulties.
MS relapses are caused when your immune system attacks the protective covering (called myelin) around nerves in your brain and spinal cord. These attacks damage the myelin. Inflammation around the nerves is the sign of an attack.
During a relapse of symptoms, a person with MS may need more sleep and rest than usual and should allow for extra sleep time at the end of their day.
MS causes nerves to lose their myelin sheath, making them more vulnerable to heat and temperature changes. Heat exposure can cause or heighten fatigue, numbness, blurry vision, tremor, confusion, imbalance, and weakness. This is a pseudo-exacerbation as symptoms typically dissipate once the body is cooled.
You're more likely to catch a cold or flu virus if you have MS, especially if you take certain medicines that curb your immune system -- your body's defense against germs. And when you get sick with the flu, your MS raises the chances of health problems that may need treatment at your doctor's office or a hospital.