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🔥 Heat May Help You Heal Faster
Muscle injuries are more common in the menopause transition and muscles can take longer to heal. Now a new study published in the Journal of Physiology suggests that some hot water immersion may help damaged muscle tissue regenerate.
For the study, researchers compared the effects of cold (12°C/53.6°F, 15 min), thermoneutral (32°C/89.6°F, 30 min), and hot water immersion (42°C/107.6°F, 60 min) on muscle regeneration over 10 days following electrically-induced eccentric muscle injury, which for the record, does not sound fun. (Note: the immersion time differences were based on established physiological responses to cold and hot and common practices in sports recovery research.)
Turns out, heat helped their muscles get back on the mend, while cold did not. Muscle strength dropped by 59% two days after the injury and was still down 32% after 10 days—regardless of the type of bath they took. So, getting back to baseline still takes time.
🛁 Hot Water Wins
Despite the popularity of cold plunges among athletes, in this study cold water immersion didn’t reduce pain, lower inflammation, or help muscles heal faster. Hot water immersion, on the other hand, reduced muscle soreness, lowered blood markers of muscle damage, boosted cellular repair proteins, and improved inflammatory markers.
Hot water appears to work by stimulating blood flow, which delivers oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells to the injury site while removing waste products. It also stimulates muscle protein synthesis, increases heat shock proteins, which protect and stabilize damaged muscle fibers, and creates a more favorable inflammatory environment.
That’s not to say there’s never a case for cold therapy (or that this is the last word on the topic). The general literature supports cold for acute injuries to bring down swelling and for short-term recovery in multi-day events.
Also, given the audience here, I need to note that this study was done on all men because they apparently had trouble recruiting women. It’s reasonable to expect similar directional effects of hot and cold water immersion in women—but the magnitude, timing, or mechanisms may differ because of hormonal and physiological sex differences. Full disclosure, I’ve always gravitated toward heat to help speed healing and have found it beneficial, so personally I do think if you’re struggling with some niggling muscle injuries, hot baths are worth a try. |
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💊 The Supplement Cabinet
Turmeric/curcumin (curcumin is the active ingredient) supplements have come under fire lately, especially since a 57-year-old New Jersey woman ended up hospitalized with liver injury (which is a terrible, very scary thing) from taking daily high-dose (2,250 mg) turmeric pills. When those headlines broke, I heard from a few close associates who swear by the supplement for alleviating their joint pain, asking my thoughts, which I’ll share here.
Right off the top, this is an important reminder that if something is potent enough to help, it’s potent enough, especially in high doses, to do harm. Unfortunately, the internet and the supplement market are both unregulated, so anyone who is interested in any particular supplement needs to do their research. I subscribe to examine.com and consumerlab.com for just this reason.
Turmeric/curcumin is often used for inflammation relief (i.e., joint pain). It has a long history of safety, but also has been linked to some cases of liver injury (as above). The incidence of clinically apparent liver injury from turmeric is not fully known, but estimated to be very rare, in the range of 1:10,000 to 1:100,000 persons exposed. (It’s worth noting that NSAIDs are not without risk for kidney injury and, especially stronger NSAIDs like diclofenac, for liver injury).
So, I checked out what the Arthritis Foundation has to say (which you can read in full here). Essentially, they cite research showing that curcumin relieved osteoarthritis pain and stiffness “as well or better than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and celecoxib – minus potentially serious side effects.” They note that experts recommend 500 mg of high-quality curcumin twice a day (so, far lower than 2,250 mg a day) for both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and to look for high quality brands (ones containing Meriva, for instance) that have been independently tested. So, as always, do your homework, work with your healthcare provider, and always know what you’re taking (Rx, OTC, or otherwise).
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🔥 Feisty Badass Athlete of the Week Goes To…
YOU! Last week I asked the Hit Play Not Pause Facebook group (now nearly 36K women strong) what they were training for right now…and the floodgates opened (and are still open, with replies continuing to come in). Answers included:
👟 Leadville Trail 100 MTB race (and the multievent Leadville challenge)
🏊♀️ 7 day swim in Croatia (and other distance swims)
💪 Hyrox 2026 (multiple)
⚽️ Legends soccer tournament
🚴 USA Cycling Masters Track Nationals
🥾 Hiking and backpacking trips (multiple people)
🏃♀️ Ironman triathlon (multiple people)
👟 Marathon (multiple)
🎒 Bikepacking excursions
🏞️ Grand Canyon Rim to Rim
💪 Masters Fitness Championship
🧱 Spartan European Championship
👟 Javalina 100K ultrarun (and other ultrarunning events)
🏋️♀️ CrossFit competitions
☄️ Heptathlon
⛰️ Big Mountain climbs (like Kilimanjaro)
And of course, many women said, “I’m training for life!” which is always the correct answer. When I started this group five years ago, my hope was a place where women could help women still chase their active goals, and it warms my heart to see it happening in real time. Way to go, everyone. 💖
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👩🏻💻 Hit Play Research Round Up
We spend a lot of time scouring the latest research for news you can use to stay strong and feisty forever. Here’s what’s making waves this week:
😣 Migraines may worsen with menopause, according to a recent review. While it’s true that after menopause, many women experience migraine improvement or resolution, a subset of women continue to have these terrible, head-pounding, nauseating episodes, especially if they have migraine with aura, which may worsen or even start after menopause. We need more research and awareness, especially since migraine affects women 3x more often than it does men.
🚺 Waist circumference linked to breast cancer, regardless of menopause status. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that having a high waist circumference (generally defined as 35 in / 88.9 cm) is linked to an increased risk in breast cancer, regardless of BMI or menopausal stage. This can feel frustrating given how the menopause transition impacts body composition, but it’s important to recognize that exercise, diet, and lifestyle go a long way toward protection here.
💊 Menopause hormone therapy may protect against flu complications. An interesting study shows MHT may protect against flu-related pulmonary complications like pneumonia or respiratory failure in otherwise healthy midlife women, possibly due to estrogen's immune benefits. It’s an observational study, so more research is needed, but it’s another interesting piece of the hormone therapy picture.
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What's On My Mind...
Polarization is exhausting. That’s what’s on my mind. There’s a beauty in agreeing to disagree without demonizing the “other side.” The menopause space has gotten incredibly polarized and I’m not sure it’s actually helping anyone. I also believe you can make your case without tearing anyone down, and in a world full of social media “stitch” videos, substack dunks, and arrows flying back and forth, I’m more determined than ever to keep doing just that.
🎧 Listen to this week's episode of Hit Play Not Pause - Menopause and Fat Loss with Bill Campbell, PhD (Replay)
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Feisty 40+ is written by Selene Yeager. Edited by Maya Smith. Ads by Ella Hnatyshyn
Live Feisty Media Corporation, 2031 Store St #30, Victoria, British Columbia V8T 5L9, Canada
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