Cold Immersion Is Even More Worthless Than We Thought? (New Study)
In a Nutshell
A new meta-analysis of 30 studies shows cold water immersion within an hour of exercise fails to restore strength or jump performance, with any soreness reduction or lower creatine kinase largely explained by bias. The practice still reliably blunts hypertrophy, eliminating the previous trade-off rationale of sacrificing muscle growth for faster recovery. Cold immersion is now contraindicated for both performance recovery and muscle-building goals, though it may remain a psychological preference.
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If the goal is solely to reduce post-exercise inflammation without concern for hypertrophy, muscle size, or strength gains, cold water immersion after training can reduce inflammation. Some people can tolerate up to 10 minutes in cold water for this purpose.
Cold water immersion involves immersing the body in very cold water, especially after workouts, with the goal of improving recovery. The practice is extremely popular despite appearing strange on paper. Health clubs now feature cold immersion tanks and cryo chambers. Professional sports teams worldwide routinely use cold immersion. Many people take cold showers at home, and health podcasters extensively discuss its supposed benefits.
Cold immersion is supposed to reduce the inflammatory cascade that occurs after training, enhancing recovery and allowing performance to return to pre-exercise levels or close to them. It may improve mobility and prevent the tight, sore feeling that impairs sports performance. It can potentially reduce perceived soreness, which may enhance performance if soreness and pain psychology are limiting factors.
Cold immersion may be especially useful for peaking and re-peaking athletes. For example, a soccer player in a one-day tournament playing three games, or a two-day tournament playing four games, could use cold immersion after each game to prevent stiffness and soreness from accumulating. The goal is to reach the final, most important game feeling less jammed up and tight than would occur without cold immersion.
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