USED INTERNATIONALLY BY ELITE & SEMI-PRO TEAMS

To plunge in a bath of cold water (a bath between 12 to 15 °C) after an intense effort, is now common practice among many professional athletes. It is used as a fast recovery method and a means to reduce joint and muscular pains, after intense training sessions and competitions.

What is hidden behind the cold water bath?

The scientific theory

The use of cold water baths is related to the fact that intense exercise causes micro traumatisms in muscle fibres. The cold water baths stimulate the activity of the healthy muscle cells, help to repair the muscular damage and help to delay the appearance of muscular pains commonly called muscle soreness (DOMS), which occur between 24 and 72 hours after the effort.

The ice bath is used:

- To decrease the metabolic activity and slow down the physiological processes
- To reduce muscular oedema
- To produce an analgesic treatment to reduce joints pains
- To eliminate muscular waste, like lactic acid, out of the muscle tissues affected by the vasoconstriction of the blood-vessels

Our recommendations:

- Cold water immersion immediately after an intense training session or game
- The alternation between cold and warm water, can also help the athletes to recover and to relax after a training session that did not cause muscular lesions.
- Baths of ice are not absolutely necessary; a bath of cold water (12-15 °C) will achieve similar results.

Cold water immersion

If you start the cool water immersion after exercise, be attentive to your athletes’ reactions. A minimum of six minutes of immersion in a bath between 12 and 15 °C should secure all the benefits mentioned above. Examples of protocols (bath temperature between 12 and 15°C):

DYNAMIC (to be used after training):
- Shower before use
- 1 minute in the cold bath
- 2 minutes out of the water
- Repeat 3 to 6 times

SPORT (to be used after a game or intense training):
- Shower before use
- 3 minutes in the cold bath
- 3 minutes out of the water
- Repeat twice

EXTREME (to be used after a very intense effort, between two very close competitions, during heat waves or in the event of muscular or articular lesions):
- Shower before use
- 15 minutes in the cold bath

Therapy of contrasting baths (Hot-Cold Bath)

If you prefer alternating hot and cold baths, the most common method includes one minute in a cold bath (10-15 °C) and two minutes in a hot bath (approximately 37-40°C), repeated approximately 3 times.

DYNAMIC (Hot/Cold):
- Shower before use
- 2 minutes in the hot bath (or hot shower)
- 1 minute in the cold bath
- Repeat 3 times
- Always finish by the cold bath

The scientific research

A study of the July 2008 issue of the “journal international de la médecine de sports” (international sports medicine newspaper) found that the immersion in cold water and the contrasted bath therapy helps with the recovery from short intense efforts, or during competitions and training where the athletes repeat high intensity efforts over several days or several times per day.

In 2007, a study from the “European Journal of Applied Physiology” examined the effect of hydrotherapy on the appearance of muscular soreness (DOMS), after an intense leg vertical press sessions. They found a smaller reduction, and a faster restoration of force and power for the athletes who used the cold bath or contrasted water that those using passive recovery and the hot bath.

Vaile, J.; Halson, S.; Gill, NR.; Dawson, B., Effect of the hydrotherapy on the recovery of fatigue. Int' L J. Medicine Sports, July 2008.

VaileJM, Gill ND, Blazevich AJ. The water therapy contrast effect on the muscular pains delay of appearance symptoms. J forces Cond Rés. August 2007; 21 (3): 697-702.