Jumping into a bath full of ice or having a cold shower is a great way to recover from exercise, right? Well...maybe.

The research over the past ten years is divided. Some say it's a good thing to sit in a bath full of cold water while others argue that you’re just wasting your time and getting cold in the process! So what are we to do?

I’ve looked at the similarities and differences between eleven scientific studies done in the last ten years (see reference list below) and have found that cold water immersion (CWI):

  • Seems to have no beneficial effect on the structural damage done to the muscle
  • Has no effect on perceived soreness (how sore you think you feel) if the athlete is untrained or not used to the exercise that has caused the soreness
  • Has a positive effect on perceived soreness if the athlete is highly trained and/or used to the exercise that has caused the soreness
  • May reduce strength for at least an hour afterward

However, many people say they can ‘feel’ the benefits of cooling sore muscles and joints, so is this a case of some science geeks overthinking the whole process? And if we found someone who believed that CWI helped them recover and compared them using CWI versus using no method at all, would we see a different result to the research? What the heck is going on here?!

For those who believe in getting cold, the key to recovery may actually depend on something else we’re doing.

1) Active recovery is more beneficial than CWI. You may be giving CWI the credit for your recovery when really it’s because of your active recovery workouts.

2) CWI may make you feel better for a little while...but see how you feel 24 hours later. You may be giving CWI credit for immediate alleviation of muscle pain because CWI temporarily increases warmth in the center of the body and increases blood flow and heart rate. However, this is because of a hormone release due to the cold skin temperature. It can potentially make you feel better but does little to nothing for muscle recovery.

So getting cold seems like a waste of time. But it’s important to note that no studies found any negative effects (apart from the immediate drop in strength, so don’t do it in your warm up), so if you like doing it, by all means go ahead.

Active recovery was often used in comparison with CWI and always kicked its ass! So always do your recovery exercises! It's recommended that you perform light exercises for the damaged muscles one to two days after your heavy lifting day.

The lack of benefits coming from sitting in a cold bath may come as a shock to some of us, myself included, although I suppose it’s easy to get stuck in your ways both in training and recovery. Sometimes we do need a different direction. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this, so get involved!

References

  • http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a910769603
  • https://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/sportsmed/doi/10.1055/s-2007-965118
  • http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a713776107
  • http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/adis/smd/2003/00000033/00000002/art00005
  • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2005.00437.x/abstract
  • http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a910769603
  • http://bjsportmed.com/content/41/6/392.abstract
  • http://jap.physiology.org/content/43/2/216.abstract
  • http://www.springerlink.com/content/d7bfe2wglh9xbcef/
  • http://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440%2808%2900038-8/abstract
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2659079/
  • http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a909773437
  • http://www.springerlink.com/content/h73570484h828127/