The Athletic Training Room is the hub of activity for collegiate and high school athletes for almost all sports. Whether separate facilities for mens/boys and womens/girls athletes, or shared facilities, the Athletic Training Room is a place where pre-game/practice taping and preparations, injury evaluation and treatment, and post-game/practice therapy and recovery takes place. It truly is a clinical, therapeutic, and social environment where athletic trainers work diligently to provide the best care for the athletes who represent their schools.

For decades, College Athletic Training Rooms have housed therapy tubs (whirlpools or cold tanks) to treat their athletes. Today, an increasing number of high schools are purchasing therapy tubs for their athletes as research continues to demonstrate that warm water therapy and cold water therapy are associated with providing both physical and psychological effects for the athlete. These include:

• Pain relief from acute and repetitive use injuries through the thermal (warm) induced relaxation and expansion of tissues and associated increased blood circulation and decreased inflammation delivering more oxygen and platelets with their growth factors/hormones to improve recovery time
• Improved recovery time. Evidence shows that cold water therapy is superior to passive recovery or rest after exercise in reducing muscle soreness, muscle damage, muscle strength, and muscle power. These would obviously negatively impact practice and competition
• Strengthening various body systems, including the immune system . The increased blood circulation and lymphatic drainage help in the elimination of metabolic waste products and potential toxins helping to reduce strenuous activity recovery time
• Increases tissue pliability for improved functional movement and joint range of motion . Warm whirlpool therapy prepares the tissues for therapeutic exercise or muscle stretching and mobilization techniques to be more effectively administered
• Reduces emotional stress and improves sense of well -being. The combinations of reduced muscle tension, increased blood flow, mitigation of pain, increased mobility, and a general relaxation all contribute to an overall increase in a sense of wellness

Click HERE to read an article referencing research studies showing evidence-based therapeutic effects of hydrotherapy (warm and cold).

Taking better care of athletes makes sense and therapy tubs provide a means to do so. So, what therapy tub would be best for your school’s athletes and Athletic Training Room?

The Top 5 Therapy Tubs for Universities, Colleges, and High Schools

ProHealthcareProducts.com (PHP) sells a complete line of Whitehall Therapy Tubs and Cold Tanks. For years we have supplied Whitehall whirlpools (Sports, Hi-Boy, Lo-Boy, Extremity) and cold tanks to professional, collegiate, and high schools to treat their athletes, often working with large construction companies who are building or remodeling the facilities/athletic training rooms that will house the therapy tubs. We have learned what whirlpools and cold tanks are most purchased for these settings. Here they are:

1.Whitehall Sports 90 Gallon Mobile Whirlpool. The compact design saves space and is mobile for moving around as needed and is designed to offer therapeutic benefits, including agitation from turbine power, to an athlete’s back, shoulders, hips, and extremities.

2. Whitehall Sports 110 Gallon Stationary Whirlpool with Legs. Specifically designed for the treatment of athletic injuries and recuperative therapy to the hips, back, shoulders, and shoulders with the agitation of tissues through turbine power. 

3. Whitehall Sports 110 Gallon Stationary Whirlpool. For treatment of an athlete’s extremities, back, hips, and shoulders with the therapeutic agitation of tissues through turbine power.

4. Whitehall Sport 90 Gallon Cold Tank with Legs, w/out Turbine. An important tool in helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise with cold water immersion of the torso and lower extremities.

5.Whitehall Extremity (Arm/Leg) 15 Gallon Whirlpool. Primarily designed for treating the lower leg, ankle, and foot areas, but can also be used to treat the upper extremities when raised with an undercarriage.