Documented Research
The Medical Saunas are based purely on documented studies. While many of our competitors make claims without proof, we only provide benefits that are based on documented studies, so you can really see how big of an impact our Medical Saunas™ can be for your health.
All studies below citations or actual links to the research so you can freely verify the information.
We are extremely careful which products we put our name on. Because we want to make sure every product we put our name on works for you, we only select products with overwhelming documented research behind them. Our brand is extremely important to us.
Microvascular Function – The Physiological Society
Clinical Study
Research:
Heat therapy increased flow-mediated dilatation, reduced arterial stiffness, reduced mean arterial and diastolic blood pressure, and reduced carotid intimae media thickness, with changes all on par or greater than what is typically observed in sedentary subjects with exercise training.
Results:
Results show for the first time that heat therapy has widespread and robust effects on vascular function, and as such, could be a viable treatment option for improving cardiovascular health in a variety of patient populations, particularly those with limited exercise tolerance and/or capabilities.
Brunt, Vienna E., Matthew J. Howard, Michael A. Francisco, Brett R. Ely, and Christopher T. Minson. "Passive Heat Therapy Improves Endothelial Function, Arterial Stiffness and Blood Pressure in Sedentary Humans." The Journal of Physiology 594.18 (2016)
Rheumatoid Arthritis – Journal of Ayurveta and Integrated Medicine
Clinical Study
Research:
A 48-year-old married woman diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2007, came to our hospital in July 2014 with the complaint of severe pain and swelling over multiple joints, especially over small joints, which was associated with stiffness, deformities of fingers and toes, with disturbed sleep and poor quality of life for the past 7 years. Treated with EMMS therapy
Results:
During and post intervention assessment showed reduction in visual analog scale score for pain. It also showed an increase in the scores of 10-Meter Walk Test, isometric hand-grip test, and short form-36 version-2 health survey. This result suggest that, the EMMS therapy might be considered as an effective treatments in reducing pain, depression, anxiety, and stress with improvement in physical functions, quality of sleep and quality of life in patients.
Mooventhan, A., Geethab Shetty, and N. Anagha. "Effect of Electro-acupuncture, Massage, Mud, and Sauna Therapies in Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis." Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine J Ayurveda Integr Med 6.4 (2015)
Heat Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes – Laboratory of Cellular Physiology
Clinical Study
Research:
Human studies indicate that heat therapy reduces fasting glycemia, glycated hemoglobin, body weight, and adiposity. Animal studies have indicated that nitric oxide and the increase in heat protein expression is involved in the improvements induced by heat therapy on insulin sensitivity, adiposity, inflammation, and vasomotricity.
Results:
The use of heat therapy in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus revealed a striking reduction of 1% unit in the glycated hemoglobin, suggesting this therapy for the treatment of diabetes.
Krause, Mauricio, Mirna Stela Ludwig, Thiago Gomes Heck, and Hilton Kenji Takahashi. "Heat Shock Proteins and Heat Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes." Laboratory of Cellular Physiology 18.4 (2015)
Skeletal Muscle Growth – American Journal of Physiological
Clinical Study
Research:
Heat therapy has been shown to promote capillary growth in skeletal muscle and in the heart in several animal models. We evaluated the acute effect of lower body heating and unilateral thigh heating on the expression of angiogenic regulators and heat shock proteins in healthy young individuals.
Results:
Exposure to lower back heating increased core temperature and average leg skin temperature. In skeletal muscle, the change in mRNA expression from baseline of vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietin 2, chemokines CCL2 and CX3CL1, platelet factor-4, and several members of the HSP family was higher 30 min after the intervention in the individuals exposed to lower back heating. The findings suggest that both lower back heating and thigh heating increase the expression of factors associated with capillary growth in human skeletal muscle.
Kuhlenhoelter, Alisha M., Kyoungrae Kim, Dustin Neff, Yaohui Nie, A. Nicole Blaize, Brett J. Wong, Shihuan Kuang, Julianne Stout, Qifan Song, Timothy P. Gavin, and Bruno T. Roseguini. "Heat Therapy Promotes the Expression of Angiogenic Regulators in Human Skeletal Muscle." American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 311.2 (2016)
Muscle Soreness – Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
Clinical Study
Research:
To assess the impact of heat applied immediately after or 24 hours after exercise on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in large skeletal muscle groups measured by subjective and objective means.
Results:
The most significant outcome was a reduction in soreness in the group that had heat applied immediately after exercise. There was benefit to applying heat 24 hours after exercise, but to a smaller extent. This was corroborated by myoglobin, algometer, and stiffness data.
Petrofsky, Jerrold, Lee Berk, Gurinder Bains, Iman Akef Khowailed, Haneul Lee, and Michael Laymon. "The Efficacy of Sustained Heat Treatment on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness." Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (2016)
Knee Pain – Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Clinical Study
Research:
This study examined if the use of continuous heat at home between physical therapy sessions at a clinic resulted in better therapy outcomes in patients with chronic knee pain
Results:
The group who had heat applied showed pain attenuation after 2 weeks of therapy sessions. Active range of motion and strength of the knee significantly improved over time compared to the placebo group. Home exercise compliance was significantly higher in the group with heat applied than placebo group. These results indicated that the use of heat therapy as an adjunct to conventional physical therapy for chronic knee pain significantly improved pain attenuation and recovery of strength and movement in patients with chronic knee pain.
Petrofsky, Jerrold S., Michael S. Laymon, Faris S. Alshammari, and Haneul Lee. "Use of Low Level of Continuous Heat as an Adjunct to Physical Therapy Improves Knee Pain Recovery and the Compliance for Home Exercise in Patients With Chronic Knee Pain." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 30.11 (2016)
Pain Relief in Primary Dysmenorrhea – Department of Medical Rehabilitation
Clinical Study
Research:
The present systematic review aimed to synthesize evidence for the effectiveness of heat therapy interventions from randomized trials. Six relevant databases were searched for studies on heat therapy for primary dysmenorrhea. Menstrual pain intensity and quality of life were the primary and secondary outcomes respectively.
Results:
Heat therapy showed evidence of pain reduction. Heat therapy showed potential as adjunct remedies in the management of primary dysmenorrheal.
Igwea, Sylvester Emeka, Chidinma Samantha Tabansi-Ochuogu, and Ukachukwu Okoroafor Abaraogu. "TENS and Heat Therapy for Pain Relief and Quality of Life Improvement in Individuals with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review." Department of Medical Rehabilitation 24 (2016)
Body Mass Loss – The Scientific World Journal
Clinical Study
Research:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and body mass loss (BML) induced by thermal stress in a dry sauna.
Results:
The smallest BML was noted in underweight subjects; students with normal weight lost more weight, whereas the greatest BML was reported in overweight and obese subjects. Persons with a high BMI are at higher risk of dehydration. The proposed equations for calculating BML based on a person's BMI can be useful in estimating the amount of fluids that should be replenished by both men and women during a visit to a dry sauna.
Podstawski, Robert, Tomasz Boraczyński, Michał Boraczyński, Dariusz Choszcz, Stefan Mańkowski, and Piotr Markowski. "Sauna-Induced Body Mass Loss in Young Sedentary Women and Men." The Scientific World Journal 2014 (2014)
Muscle Regeneration – National Center for Biotechnology Information
Clinical Study
Research:
Hyperthermia therapy has recently emerged as a clinical modality used to finely tune heat stress inside the human body for various biomedical applications. Nevertheless, little is known regarding the optimal timing or temperature of heat stress that is needed to achieve favorable results following hyperthermia therapy for muscle regeneration purposes. The regeneration of skeletal muscle after injury is a highly complex and coordinated process that involves a multitude of cellular mechanisms. The main objective of this study was to characterize the effects of hyperthermal therapy on the overall behavior of myoblasts during myogenic differentiation.
Results:
Atrophy genes were sensitive even to moderate hyperthermia, indicating that strictly controlled heat stress is required to minimize the development of atrophy in myotubes. In addition, mitochondrial biogenesis was enhanced following thermal induction of myoblasts, suggesting a subsequent shift toward anabolic demand requirements for energy production. This study offers a new perspective to understand and utilize the time and temperature-sensitive effects of hyperthermal therapy on muscle regeneration.
"Controlled Heat Stress Promotes Myofibrillogenesis during Myogenesis." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. 8 Nov. 2016.
Relaxation – Department of Anesthesiology and Applied Physiology
Clinical Study
Research:
Can heat, as a common tool be used in the treatment of muscular disorders such as stiffness or myalgia. Clinical data as well as in vitro experiments demonstrate that increased temperatures lead to a head-related myofacial relaxation. Investigating the differential effects of the skeletal muscle fibers and the facial structures.
Results:
The increased temperature leads to an enhancement in the functional properties of skeletal muscle in terms of accelerated contraction and relaxation parameters. There is a direct fascial relaxation that contributes to heat-induced relaxation. This supports the notion that the regulation of fascial stiffness plays a major part in resting muscle tone.
"The Role of Fascia in Resting Muscle Tone and Heat Induced Relaxation." Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Department of Anesthesiology and Applied Physiology 12.4 (2008)
White Blood Cell Profile Levels – U.S. National Library of Medicine
Clinical Study
Research:
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of sauna bathing on a white blood cell profile, cortisol levels and selected physiological indices in athletes and non-athletes. The study evaluated 9 trained middle-distance runners and 9 male non-athletes. The subjects from both groups participated in 15-minute sauna sessions until their core temperature rose by 1.2°C (mean temperature in the sauna room was 96° ± 2°C; relative humidity was 15 ± 3%) with a 2 minute cool down with water at a temperature of 19-20°C.
Results:
After the sauna session, an increased number of white blood cells, lymphocyte, neutrophil and basophil counts was reported in the white blood cell profile. Higher increments in leukocyte and monocyte after the sauna bathing session were recorded. The obtained results indicated that sauna bathing stimulated the immune system to a high degree.
Effect of a Single Sauna Session on White Blood Cell Profile and Cortisol Levels in Athletes and Non-athletes." Journal of Human Kinetics. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d.
Detox Programs– U.S. National Library of Medicine
Clinical Study
Research:
According to our nationwide survey of Naturopathic Physicians regarding use of detoxification, approximately 80 percent of NDs (Naturopathic Doctors) use some type of detoxification interventions in clinical practice on a regular basis. Of the interventions used, 66% of respondents reported using sauna therapy. Of the conditions treated, over 80 percent of practitioners use sauna-based detoxification for “general cleansing/preventive medicine.” This protocol will utilize a sauna as the primary method of detoxification. Detoxification therapies used by NDs may serve as an adequate means to reduce the body burden of synthetic chemicals found today in humans; however, scientifically rigorous research is needed to determine the safety and efficacy of these therapies.
Results:
Results show that subjects may literally sweat out small amounts of chemicals and toxins, and the heat treatment’s other benefit will most likely come from lipolysis — breaking down fat, where toxic substances are stored. That would allow them to move through the bloodstream to the kidneys and liver, which are the primary organs of excretion.
PubMed - NCBI." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d.
