Photo by Keegan Cook ’21 | The cold tub featured above is a resource for athletes and is open in the sports medicine facilities.
By Jackson Baker ’19
THE ROUNDUP
In today’s sports world, there are many innovative and popular ways to help your body recover after an intense workout or a tough competition. One very popular method that Brophy offers its athletes for rehab are cold tubs or “plunge pools” that are located in the Sports Medicine Center on campus.
Designed by Mr. White and his students the cold tubs are in a state of the art facility and were installed at Brophy in 2006. Brophy is one of the only high schools in Arizona and one of only a small handful in the country that offers plunge pools for its athletes to use for rehab.
The temperature in the cold tubs can vary depending on the needs of the user. “We keep it around 50 degrees, sometimes a few degrees warmer or colder to give a therapeutic effect,” Mr. White said
The cold tubs serve multiple rehab purposes for students. “We use the cold tubs for a lot for acute injuries such as ankle sprains and we also have a lot of athletes that come in on a daily basis use it for sore muscles after a hard workout to prevent post-exercise inflammation,” Mr. White said.
According to Mr. White, cold tubs can help just about any athlete. “I think anyone can benefit from plunge pools by using them to delay muscle spasms or muscle soreness after a workout.”
Around campus, the cold tubs are a popular method of rehab for students. Mustafa Khaled ’20, who uses the cold tubs after his football workouts, described the rehab method as “something that actually works and really helps to reduce inflammation and soreness after practice.”
While there are many methods to rehab sports injuries or recover from workouts, it’s clear that the cold tubs at Brophy seem to be one of the most effective and popular methods for recovery. For those Brophy athletes looking to speed up rehab or recovery, a visit to the Sports Medicine Center for a plunge in a cold tub is highly recommended.
