Wim Hof trial found no clear mental health benefit after spinal cord injury
The combined breathing, mindset and cold program had some favorable secondary results, but the trial’s main mental health outcome did not differ significantly between groups.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The trial did not detect a significant difference in its primary mental health outcome. The group receiving breathing, mindset training and cold exposure reported less pain interference than usual care and had favorable changes in some physical measures. These secondary findings do not establish a mental health benefit or show that cold exposure itself caused the differences.
This abstract-based summary lacks effect estimates for mental health and pain interference. Dropouts were uneven: eight without cold exposure, versus one in each other group. The abstract does not describe adjustment for multiple secondary comparisons.
What researchers found
Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) score
Between the programs with and without cold exposure and usual care in the 7-week trial.
Primary and secondary outcomes
The trial’s main question concerned mental health. Pain interference, breathing measures and fasting glucose were secondary outcomes. A change in glucose is a laboratory result, so it cannot by itself demonstrate broader clinical improvement.
Cold was one component
The cold-exposure arm combined several components. Its comparison with usual care cannot separate the effects of cold from breathing or mindset training, and the abstract does not report a clear advantage over the program without cold.
The original publication
The effect of breathing exercises and mindset with or without cold exposure on mental and physical health in persons with a spinal cord injury-Results of a randomized controlled trial.
de Groot S, Ettema FW, van der Bijll M et al.
Clin Rehabil · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41810770
- Record checked
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