A new small crossover study of 30 young women explored the use of cold-water immersion for increasing post-exercise recovery in muscle. The study was carried out by researchers at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland. They sought to explain the contradictory findings from earlier studies on this topic.
These participants—as young as an average age of 23—pushed themselves very hard on the workouts. They finished with five sets of 20 drop jumps off of a thigh high box. After each acclimation workout, participants were assigned to one of three groups to undergo a specific recovery procedure. In one experiment, one group of participants immersed their entire bodies in 10° Celsius water for 10 minutes. The second one immersed in 40° Celsius water, while an experimental control group received no immersion treatment.
After a two-hour break, each group repeated their immersion protocols. The research team tracked indicators of muscle recovery—namely muscle strength, soreness, and swelling—one, two, and three days after the bout of exercise. Most surprisingly of all, this recovery of muscle damage was nearly identical among the three groups.
Vanessa Wellauer, an exercise and rehabilitation sciences researcher, offered a key takeaway. For example, she said that the findings indicate cold-water immersion isn’t a way to go about speeding up muscle recovery. In particular, she highlighted the role of subjective benefits on athletic recovery. Feeling more recovered or less fatigued has a big impact on how athletes will view the recovery process overall.
“The subjective benefits, like feeling refreshed or less tired, can positively influence recovery perception and motivation, which are important factors in practice and competition.” – Vanessa Wellauer
The study’s findings were released in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 7th. Wellauer for her research being one of the first to specifically look at how women’s muscles recover from intense exercise. This discovery is an important advance to the discipline.
A lot of people are under the misconception that cold-water immersion is a panacea. Yet studies urge for more comprehensive studies to prove its effectiveness. The results show that cold-water or warm-water immersions markedly improve any muscle recovery. In fact, they could even be worse than doing nothing.
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