Cold Water Immersion

Cold water immersion (CWI) is a ubiquitous recovery practice for athletes after hard training sessions & competitions. Beyond potentially gaining mental toughness, are there physiologic benefits that warrant the masochist practice? Primarily due to reducing tissue temperature & blood flow, some research report reduction in delayed onset muscles soreness (DOMS) & swelling & an increase in muscle function & performance. Conversely, recent research has demonstrated lowered myofibrillar protein synthesis (Fuchs et al., 2020), no change in DOMS (Pesenti et al., 2020) & no reduction in inflammation, oxidative stress or DOMS (Leeder et al., 2019), all of which may attenuate conditioning gains. While contraindicated for individuals with medical conditions, e.g., Raynaud’s, hypertension, diabetes, etc., the overall effects appear equivocal. Several factors such as, training status, gender, body composition, etc. should be considered & perhaps reflected upon before jumping in with both feet!