A Female Athlete Enhancing Her Performance, Endurance, And Recovery With Salt Therapy.

The Benefits of Salt Therapy for Athletes

Are you looking for a way to differentiate your spa or fitness center from the competition? Salt therapy rooms might be the answer. Salt therapy for athletes is trending in the wellness community – don’t let your business get left behind.

The events of recent years have more people than ever focused on their respiratory health in addition to their physical health. Optimizing respiratory health has long been a priority for athletes.

Offering salt therapy for athletes at your facility not only gives your business a competitive edge, but can also boost your bottom line. Let’s explore some of the benefits of salt therapy for athletes.

How Does Salt Therapy Help Athletes?

Salt therapy (aka halotherapy) involves breathing in micron-sized pharmaceutical-grade dry salt particles in a safe, hygienic, and controlled environment. It’s a great alternative treatment for lung-related issues such as asthma, bronchitis, and persistent coughs. 

How we breathe and what we breathe contributes to our overall well-being. While this is true for the average individual, it plays a critical role in the lives of athletes. Inflammation, foreign particles, and bacteria can lead to lungs underperforming when athletes need them the most.

Why Athletes Should Use Salt Therapy?

Sports require mental and physical fortitude to achieve success – much of conditioning centers on eating right, getting adequate sleep, and practicing regularly. Optimizing breathing is of the utmost importance regardless of an athlete’s activity. Both professional athletes and highly active individuals can benefit from halotherapy.

Inflammation and obstruction of the airways can lead to poor breathing patterns that negatively affect athletic performance. When breathing is less than optimized, everything from increased dehydration to increased recovery time post-workout to reduced stamina can get in the way of an athlete’s goal.

Salt Therapy For Athletic Recovery

5 Benefits of Salt Therapy for Athletes

As this alternative treatment grows in popularity, the question of, ‘how is salt therapy beneficial for athletes?’ is also trending. The number one advantage of salt therapy for athletes is optimized breathing. Optimized breathing results from enhanced lung capacity, clear respiratory tract and airways, and reduced stress and infection rates. When breathing is optimized, less breath is required to achieve a higher level of performance. 

Take a look at how salt therapy is beneficial for athletes:

  • Enhance lung capacity – When lung capacity is enhanced, airways are fully open to take in more oxygen, which improves endurance by increasing oxygen levels and red blood cells.
  • Reduce stress – Increased oxygen intake has been linked with helping people relax, both physically and mentally. A clear mental state is necessary to improve attention, sharpen the body’s response, and reduce reaction time.
  • Clear respiratory tract – Micron-sized salt particles are anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, which helps dissipate mucus, remove unwanted foreign particles from the respiratory tract, and treat respiratory weakness.
  • Maintain clear airways – Regular treatment allows the lungs and respiratory tract to remain free of unwanted particles and blockages that hinder optimal breathing. Ridding the respiratory tract of toxins can help improve deep, clear breathing patterns.
  • Fight infection – Besides being antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, the dry salt used in halotherapy has antiseptic and antifungal properties. These help fight infections by improving sleep quality so the body can focus on recovery while removing mucus and other obstructions from the airways.

This is only a partial list of how salt therapy can benefit athletes. But looking at these advantages, it isn’t difficult to see why athletes should use salt therapy to improve their performance. 

How Does Salt Therapy Boost the Immune System?

The immune system consists of a complex network of organs, tissues, cells, and other substances that help the body fight off infections and other diseases. The benefits of salt therapy for athletes overlap with the benefits this treatment offers to the immune system.

Salt therapy is more than just a relaxing way to pass the time. It helps reduce inflammation, stress, and airborne toxins in the body. Our immune system weakens when stress levels are high, preventing us from being able to fend off even the common cold. The stronger the immune system, the less likely an athlete is to be sidelined by illness.

How Effective is Salt Therapy for Athletes?

Athletes are finding ways to incorporate halotherapy into their everyday lives, from at-home SALT Booths® to salt caves in fitness centers to salt therapy rooms in yoga facilities. Even professional athletes have begun using salt therapy during off-season training as part of their performance and recovery routine. 

If it’s good enough for professional football players, it’s time that athletes of all levels experience the benefits of salt therapy for their endurance and performance. Some European countries even have their athletes train and practice in salt caves to improve their breathing patterns.

How Often Should You Do Salt Therapy?

Individuals can benefit from salt therapy treatment, whether they’re athletes or “armchair athletes.” The frequency of treatment may vary depending on each person’s unique health concerns. People with chronic or severe respiratory issues are encouraged to schedule sessions more often.

Athletes who want to enhance their sports performance should consider scheduling salt therapy sessions a few times per week over the course of a few months to experience maximum benefits.

Boost Your Bottom Line with Salt Therapy for Athletes

Offering athletes salt therapy as part of your services may attract new clients looking for that competitive advantage on the sports field or court. As your client’s performance improves, their friends and teammates will race to your facility to try salt therapy for themselves. With all the research and information found online, the best means of attracting new business will be a satisfied, better-performing client. 

The SALT Chamber design and installation team has worked on over 1,400 salt room installation projects worldwide. Contact SALT Chamber today to receive our 32-page price guide magazine and learn more about how we can help you build your very own salt cave or salt room!

Photo Credit: NexGen Fitness Buffalo, JW Marriott Turnberry