Sauna Exposure and Rehabilitation: An Underutilized Adjunct for Physiotherapy Practice

This narrative review explores sauna exposure as an emerging adjunctive intervention with potential relevance to physiotherapy practice. The physiological effects of sauna exposure are presented as related to neuromusculoskeletal performance, cardiorespiratory function, exercise recovery, and systemic health domains relevant to advanced physiotherapy care. The key benefits, owing to hyperthermia and upregulation of heat shock proteins, include thermoregulatory, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and cytoprotective responses that support homeostasis and adaptive stress tolerance. From a clinical perspective, frequent sauna use is linked to improved aerobic capacity and blood pressure regulation, particularly when combined with exercise. Furthermore, sauna exposure may support post-exercise and post-intervention recovery through attenuation of muscle soreness and modulation of inflammatory and hormonal responses, contributing to tissue repair and a timely return of neuromuscular function. Despite these potential benefits, substantial variability in evidence-informed dosing parameters exists, underscoring the need for appropriate patient selection and safety considerations. Despite inconsistent dosing parameters, sauna exposure represents a physiologically plausible and increasingly evidence-informed intervention that may complement established physiotherapy interventions. Further clinical research is needed to define optimal dosing, safety guidelines, and its targeted role within rehabilitation populations. Moreover, studies comparing sauna exposure to other physiotherapy thermal modalities are needed to determine efficacy. This manuscript is classified as level 5 evidence based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines. Thus, no indication of the superiority of sauna over other interventions is being established.