Can’t speak to joint pain, but muscle soreness and overall attitude it makes a world of difference. Short term though, not an all day solution.
Went through a phase where I was doing it 3 times a week for about a month (days I would both run and lift). It would alleviate soreness for a few hours, particularly in my quads, not as much in my lower back or calfs. I was also very alert, focused, and in a great mood afterwards. But within an hour or two I’d be back to baseline mentally, probably 4 hours and soreness would come back.
One thing to note is even though muscle soreness went away, they were still weak just like always after a hard leg day.
Effects were short term, and I spent downright stupid amounts on ice plus extra water for the tub, so I stopped doing it. If I had funny money like the pro athlestes that push it, or lived somewhere cold enough I could just jump in the creek out back, I’d still do it. But not worth it imo if you have to spend money on ice.
