Heat Therapy

Research summary

• A systematic review and meta-analysis found heat therapy produces modest improvements in blood pressure and peripheral vascular function, and a separate meta-analysis found heat therapy may help patients with heart failure, though the evidence for the latter is not yet strong enough for firm clinical recommendations.
• A systematic review of cardiovascular autonomic responses during passive heating protocols supports plausible mechanisms behind these effects.
• For muscle soreness specifically, meta-analyses that test heat and cold therapy together find both modestly reduce pain after exercise-induced muscle damage, without a clear winner between the two approaches for most outcomes.
• As with sauna bathing (a specific, more intensively studied form of heat exposure covered separately), the general heat-therapy literature shows real but modest effects across several outcomes rather than one large, well-established benefit.