'hot and cold' treatment has been known for years for injury.
the old man was running marathons fifteen years ago and, in the training process, was dipping the feet and ankles in between hot water and ice cold water.
only gym i know of, which i used to me a member of, is total fitness on the malahide road. it doesn't have 'ice baths', but it does have a plunge pool outside the sauna and steam room that is so cold that the first time i jumped into it i thought all my internal organs were going to collapse!!!! it is really cold, though maybe thats just coming from the heat of the sauna/steam room, but the first few times it is really shocking.
have been in several different gyms over the years and never come across anything as severe as the plunge pool in total fitness on the malahide road.